The initial cause of the Great Depression and stock collapse of October 1929 was all the stock that had been purchased on margin. When the stock prices fell many of the people who had purchased on margin could not cover the margin calls and went bust. That of course was before the financial controls imposed by the government in today’s market and theoretically that situation could never happen again although many of those who lost money in the past year may disagree. You can still buy stock by putting only a portion of the cost in hard cash down with the balance being covered by your credit standing and therefore on margin.

Just Pay For the Stock You Buy

Cash is still the best way to purchase any investment. Buying stock on margins will necessitate the price of the stock rising enough to not only cover your cost and fees, but enough to cover the interest charges imposed by the stock firm offering the margin purchase. Unless your crystal ball is a good one, and your stock picks take off, that is a lot of pressure for the stocks price to rise. Of course if the price falls you are still responsible for that loss plus any interest due on the original purchase price. You may owe quite a bit more than the stock is worth when you sell.

Using A Brokers’ Margin System

When you borrow money to buy a car you pay back what you borrowed, plus an interest charge. This is the same with marginal stock. You are borrowing part (usually around 80%) of the stock price from the broker. For this service the broker will charge you interest. If you buy a $100 stock you give the broker $20 and borrow $80. You then pay interest on that $80 until you sell. So theoretically, If the stock goes up to $150 you must give the broker back their $80 plus the interest for the time you held the stock. The great part in using margin (if the stock goes up) is making a $20 investment you have gotten your $20 back plus a $50 profit minus whatever interest is due. Many day traders use this method to make a lot of money by buying and selling stocks quickly – sometimes buying in the morning and selling in the afternoon – hence day trading.

Regardless of How You Pay You Still Must Know What Stocks To Buy

If your interested in margins the best advice is to know your stocks. One bad bet can cost a lost of money. Conversely, it can make you a bundle. History can help with a stocks’ rises and falls but circumstances of a particular day can affect a solid stock to a great extent. Think what would happen to the health insurance provider’s stock if the government announced universal health care for the citizens of the United States. Everything affects the stock prices – politics, weather, the moods of the people. When a few of the banks borrowed from the government most bank stock whet down, even if they were not borrowers from the fed.

On Margin or Outright

Basically, buy with cash if you can. When a special situation arises where you are sure of the stock health and “know” it will rise buying on margin can net you some super profits without a big cash outlay. You will of course still be limited by the equity you have in your brokerage account. Unless you are wealthy, or have great credit at a bank they won’t lend you money to buy a stock so the broker is normally the only avenue available. Another “trick” used by savvy investors is to use the 7 day payment period used by most brokers. You can buy the stock today and wait a few days to pay, or just sell it before the payment is due. Then any profit is yours without interest – that is if the stock goes up. If the price falls the purchase price is still due, so be sure you have a backup if you are using this plan.

Richard Moran is a Financial Consultant and writer for Money Helpers. The site contains hundreds of articles, charts, and calculators to assist you in your financial well-being. All the aspects of the site are free and it is updated on an almost daily basis. If you are searching for any financial information or products they can be found on Money Helpers.