successful traders don't get margin calls. ****************************** Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)
Successful traders aren't immune to mistakes.. Re: how to best deal with it: Don't get overmargined again. I suppose stocks are easier to take a margin haircut than with eminis. A hundred shares, here and there vs. a contract... Ouch! A futures haircut could lop your head off? Good luck, Sub
I don't think successful traders whould get margin calls. You can't be that successful if you still have to use margin to be able to afford the objectively ideal position size. Of course, it's different with futures. You don't pay interest if you hold futures "on margin", but I don't think that's what we are talking about, is it?
To you and Lobster, A lot of successful traders get margin calls. You obviously have only been exposed to guys who have gotten blown out. Many traders maximize their leverage for daytrading purposes. You don't have to keep your entire networth in your trading account especially when its only getting .75% interest. You get a margin call - you meet it by moving your money from your (higher) interest bearing account. Its actually a SMART thing for successful traders to do. A smart trader should also learn how to manage their assets.
Agreed. He wanted to hear from successful traders who have been margined in the past. How they dealt with it account wise, and maybe emotionally. I still think the best thing to do is strive to never do it again.
I get one about every other day from IB. I margin out a lot intraday in my small trading account. They just sell off a hundred shares. Then I buy em back next time one of my stocks upticks. Then they resell that 100 lot when something downticks. I bet they have one guy in the margin dept who's just assigned to me... LOL... I make his job interesting.