General Margin Questions

What is margin trading?

Margin trading allows you to borrow funds from your broker to purchase more securities than you could with just your own money. This leverage can amplify potential returns, but it also increases the risk of larger losses.

How do I trade on margin?

To trade on margin, your margin account must have at least $2,000 in equity. This enables margin trading and short selling, providing up to 4 times day trading buying power and 2 times overnight buying power. Your buying power is calculated based on settled cash and the partial market value of your current holdings.

Please note that stocks with higher volatility may have higher margin requirements or may not qualify for leverage at all. Always check leverage availability before placing an order.

How much leverage does Webull offer?

Webull provides leverage based on the margin equity in your account, which may vary depending on the selected security. If your account has at least $2,000 in equity by the end of the previous business day, you can access up to 4 times day-trade buying power and 2 times overnight buying power. Buying power is reset at the beginning of each business day. Accounts with less than $2,000 in equity do not qualify for leverage.

How do I know which stocks I can leverage?

If the dollar icon appears on the stock's quote page, it means the stock is marginable. To check the maximum leverage available for that stock, simply tap the dollar icon.

What is buying power?

Buying power is the total amount of funds you have available to purchase securities, including your account's cash balance and any accessible margin.

Overnight Buying Power (ONBP)

ONBP is the amount of funds you can use to purchase securities that can be held overnight.

Day Trade Buying Power (DTBP)

DTBP represents the funds available for trades within a single trading day, calculated at the start of the day. Buying shares reduces DTBP, while selling shares on the same day replenishes it based on the lower of the sale price or the previous day’s closing price, times the number of shares sold. DTBP does not increase from sales of overnight marginable securities or same-day deposits; these changes reflect the next business day. In a margin account, if you hold a position overnight and add to it the next day before closing the initial position, your DTBP won't replenish until the following trading day. While profits from day trades immediately reflect in your cash balance, they won't boost your intraday buying power.

What is instant buying power?

Instant Buying Power allows immediate access to a portion of funds deposited via ACH, enabling you to take advantage of market opportunities before full settlement. If the ACH deposit is initiated before 4:00 pm ET, instant buying power will be available for trading stocks and ETFs.

Exceptions to Instant buying power

• Certain financial institutions may not qualify for provisional credit on ACH deposits due to higher reversal risks. If instant buying power is required, consider linking a different institution.
• Accounts with multiple deposit reversals may not qualify for instant buying power.
• If there is an open margin call in the account.
• Securities deemed highly volatile, in which case you can place orders once the deposit has cleared, typically 3-4 business days via ACH transfer.

The volatility of a security is determined by internal risk policies, considering factors such as average daily volume (ADV), price, market capitalization, sector, type of security, trading market, recent IPOs, hard-to-borrow status, one-day price fluctuation, and firm holdings.

Why does it say my buying power is insufficient?

Open Orders

Canceling open orders can replenish buying power.

Different margin requirements

Your purchasing ability depends on each stock's maintenance requirement. For example:

• Stock A with a 25% maintenance requirement allows up to 4 times leverage.
• Stock B with a 100% maintenance requirement allows no leverage.

The order ticket will display the maximum number of shares you can buy based on these conditions.

Market order volatility

Due to market volatility, placing market orders before the opening bell requires 115% of the order value in available buying power. During regular hours, you need 2% more buying power than the estimated purchase amount to place a market order. These "buffers" ensure your order does not exceed available buying power.