How do I know when I’m investing on margin?

Before you can invest on margin, you have to apply and will only have access if you meet eligibility requirements.

You’ll only start investing on margin after the cash in your brokerage account has been fully invested. This means that if you have cash in your account, you won’t invest on margin until it’s fully spent.

For example, suppose you have $3,000 in your brokerage account—$2,800 in stocks and $200 cash. If you buy an additional $500 of MEOW stock, you will use your $200 in remaining cash first and the remaining $300 would be invested on margin using the securities in your account as collateral.

Once you have used margin funds for investing, you can check your total margin used amount in Investing → Buying power

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; it 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.

Robinhood Financial charges a standard margin interest rate of 12% and a margin interest rate of 8% for customers who subscribe to Gold. The margin interest rate is calculated by adding 6.5% (for non-Gold customers) or 2.5% (for Gold customers) to the upper bound of the Target Federal Funds Rate, which is set by the Federal Reserve and is subject to change without notice. The formulas used to calculate the margin interest rate are subject to change at Robinhood Financial’s discretion. The margin rates shown are as of July 27, 2023 and might change at any time without notice and at Robinhood Financial’s discretion. The standard margin interest rate will be rolled out to customers who don't subscribe to Gold in phases over a period of time, subject to eligibility criteria, and so may not be available immediately to all customers.

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.

Crypto trading and custodial services are offered through an account with Robinhood Crypto. Robinhood Crypto isn’t a member of SIPC or FINRA. Robinhood Crypto and Robinhood Financial are separate but affiliated entities. Cryptocurrencies aren’t securities and your crypto isn’t FDIC insured or SIPC protected. For more information, review the Robinhood Crypto Risk Disclosure.

Robinhood Financial LLC (member SIPC) is a registered broker-dealer. Robinhood Securities, LLC (member SIPC) is a registered broker-dealer and provides brokerage clearing services. Robinhood Crypto, LLC provides crypto trading. All are subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc. (‘Robinhood’), trading as HOOD on Nasdaq.