What does it mean if I get a margin call?

A margin maintenance call is when your portfolio value (minus any crypto positions) falls below your margin maintenance requirement.

Margin maintenance calls can happen for a variety of reasons, including a decline in the value of your holdings, ACH reversals, or options assignments. If you get a margin maintenance call, you need to bring your portfolio value (excluding any crypto positions) back up to your minimum margin maintenance requirement, or you risk Robinhood having to liquidate your position(s) to bring your portfolio value (excluding any crypto positions) back above your margin maintenance requirement.

Margin calls are no fun, so we’re happy to give you some tips on how to avoid them.

• You can compare the stocks value in your portfolio (Account (person icon → Menu (3 bars) → Investing) to the margin maintenance value (Account (person icon) → Menu (3 bars) → Margin investing) to determine if you're approaching a margin call.
• Look out for updates from us when your portfolio value (excluding any crypto positions) is getting close to your investing account’s margin maintenance requirement. You’ll typically receive a message in the app when you’re close to receiving a margin call, and an email once you’ve received one.
• If you elect to deposit funds after receiving such a message in the app or a margin call, you may see a pre-filled or optional deposit amount that we expect will help keep your portfolio value above your margin maintenance. Depositing such an amount, however, doesn’t guarantee that you won’t get a margin call. Any pre-filled or optional deposit amount is provided solely for your reference, is subject to change, and isn’t a recommendation. You can always enter a different deposit amount or sell stocks to help keep your portfolio value above your margin maintenance.

You can resolve a margin call in a few different ways, including:

• You can deposit additional funds or initiate an account transfer to increase your portfolio value above the margin maintenance requirement (excluding any crypto positions).
• You may choose to sell some of your securities to cover the required amount. The proceeds from the sales can help cover your margin call. This may allow you to avoid depositing additional funds. Keep in mind that you may also sell non-marginable positions such as options or crypto to cover your maintenance call.

All investments involve risk including loss of principal. No investments are FDIC insured. All examples are hypothetical and don’t reflect actual or anticipated results. Content is provided for informational purposes only, doesn’t constitute investment advice, and isn’t a recommendation for any security, account type or feature, or trading strategy. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.

Margin investing involves interest charges and risks, including the potential to lose more than deposited or the need to deposit additional collateral in a falling market. Before using margin, customers must determine whether this type of trading strategy is right for them given their specific investment objectives, experience, risk tolerance, and financial situation.

Regardless of the underlying value of the securities you purchased, you must repay your margin debt. Robinhood Financial can change its maintenance margin requirements at any time without prior notice. If the equity in your account falls below the minimum maintenance requirements (varies according to the security), you’ll have to deposit additional cash or acceptable collateral. If you fail to meet your minimums, Robinhood Financial may be forced to sell some or all of your securities, with or without your prior approval.

For more information, review FINRA’s Investor Alert and Robinhood Financial’s Customer Relationship Summary, Margin Disclosure Statement, and Margin Agreement. These disclosures contain important information on Robinhood Financial’s products and services, conflicts of interests, lending policies, interest charges, and the risks associated with margin investing enabled accounts.