Trade
Managing margin
Collateral, leverage and keeping positions healthy.
Isolated margin
Each position is margined separately. The collateral you put into one position can only be lost by that position; a liquidation in one market doesn't touch your other positions or your unused balance.
Choosing leverage
Leverage multiplies both gains and losses. A useful rule: your liquidation distance is roughly 100% ÷ leverage. At 10× that's about a 10% move; at 50× about 2%.
- Lower leverage gives the price room to move against you before it recovers.
- Size positions so that a liquidation is a loss you can accept.
- Outside U.S. market hours and around earnings, prices can gap sharply.