Hi there,

Quick query regarding NinjaTrader

I've only got $123 in my account and went to place a trade on the MES 18:37 UK time (30 mins ago), I could not take the trade as it said the margins were $200. I haven't seen an e-mail seeing the margins have increased? 30 minutes later, I am now allowed to place a trade? very frustrating as I've been waiting for days for a perfect set up so I don't blow up the account and now missed out on a 130 tick trade.

Is it purely because volatility had increased or am I being paranoid? I understand they can change the margins requirements whenever but I thought you'd at least get an e-mail notifying intraday margin changes?

Thanks,
Jordon

JordonDavies 

Hi there, Quick query regarding NinjaTrader I've only got $123 in my account and went to place a trade on the MES 18:37 UK time (30 mins ago), I could not take the trade as it said the margins were $200. I haven't seen an e-mail seeing the margins have increased? 30 minutes later, I am now allowed to place a trade? very frustrating as I've been waiting for days for a perfect set up so I don't blow up the account and now missed out on a 130 tick trade. Is it purely because volatility had increased or am I being paranoid? I understand they can change the margins requirements whenever but I thought you'd at least get an e-mail notifying intraday margin changes? Thanks, Jordon

That's up to your broker. I'm with AMP, they informed customers yesterday that margins will be 25% higher due to the FOMC event.
Information about restored margin back to standard Day Trading Margin came 7:15pm CET.

This is not atypical for brokers to increase margin before predictable big events like FOMC.

chasepatrol 

That's up to your broker. I'm with AMP, they informed customers yesterday that margins will be 25% higher due to the FOMC event. Information about restored margin back to standard Day Trading Margin came 7:15pm CET. This is not atypical for brokers to increase margin before predictable big events like FOMC.

Thanks for your reply chasepatrol.


I just had reply from customer service,

''During times of volatility margins may be increased for example today for the FOMC announcement. You can find any margin changes up-to-date on our page linked below:
• https://ninjatrader.com/blog/order-desk-updates/
Please let us know if we may be of further assistance.''

However the link they mentioned haven't been update since 2 days ago and had no e-mail of margin changes. I'm gutted, but never mind lesson learnt!

The brokers can change margin requirements any second they want, even if it forces your position to a margin call. Trading an account with barely the margin requirement is just dumb. Paper trade and save up until you can fund an account properly.

Also, being aware of market-moving news is essential. Today was an FOMC day and you probably shouldn't even have been trading during the news.