Use the Balances tool to see your account balances broken down into a number of important categories. The tool will also display a notification at the top of the page in the event that the account has generated one or more margin calls that need to be addressed.
Quick Tip: Use the right-click menu to show all your balances or to refresh.
If applicable, a Margin Call summary section will appear at the top of the Balances tool. It contains a number of details about the types, amounts, and due dates of your outstanding margin calls. These details include:
Expand the summary section to display details of the margin calls by type and amount, including the impact of your actions and fluctuations in the market value of your positions on the calls since previous close. The list of calls is also broken down by type, date issued, date due, status, current amount, original amount, and amount due.
Individual balances have different update frequencies for specific reasons, which may include settlement, regulatory, or other circumstances.
Real-time
Balances that are updated in real-time display values that change with market fluctuations. These balances are completely recalculated based on position price changes, trade executions, and money movement into or out of your account.
Intraday
Balances that are updated intraday reflect trade executions and money movement into and out of your account during the day.
Overnight
Balances that are updated overnight display values after a nightly update of your account. In some cases, certain balances can only be updated overnight due to regulatory restrictions.
| Balance | Description | Update Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Total Account Value | The total market value of all positions in the account, including Core Money Market, minus any outstanding debit balances and any amount required to cover short option positions that are in-the-money | Real-Time |
| Cash (Core) | Account settlement position for trade activity and money movement, including core and other eligible additional Fidelity money markets; executed Buy orders and cash withdrawals will reduce the Core, and executed Sell orders and cash deposits will increase the Core. | Overnight |
| Cash
Credit/Cash Debit |
A Cash Credit is an amount that will be credited to (positive value) the Core at trade settlement. A Cash Debit is an amount that will be debited to (negative value) the Core at trade settlement. | Intraday |
| Held in Cash | The total market value of all long cash account positions; this figure is reduced by the value of any in-the-money covered options and does not include cash in the Core Money Market. | Real-Time |
| Held in Options | The market value of all long and short option positions held in the account | Real-Time |
| Available to Trade | ||
| Cash Available to Trade | The amount available to purchase securities in a cash account without adding money to the account; executed Buy orders will reduce this value (at the time the order is placed), and executed Sell orders will increase this value (at the time the order executes). | Intraday |
| Cash (Core) | Account settlement position for trade activity and money movement, including core and other eligible additional Fidelity money markets; executed Buy orders and cash withdrawals will reduce the Core, and executed Sell orders and cash deposits will increase the Core. | Overnight |
| Cash
Credit/Cash Debit |
A Cash Credit is an amount that will be credited to (positive value) the Core at trade settlement. A Cash Debit is an amount that will be debited from (negative value) the Core at trade settlement. | Intraday |
| Uncollected Deposit | Recent deposits that have not gone through the bank collection process and are unavailable for online trading; the normal check and electronic funds transfer (EFT) collection period is four business days. | Overnight |
| Committed to Open Orders | The dollar amount allocated to pending orders that have not yet been executed (e.g., Buy orders); the amount you have Committed to Open Orders decreases your Cash Available to Trade. | Intraday |
| Settled Cash | The portion of your Cash (Core) balance that represents the amount of securities you can Buy and Sell in a Cash Account without creating a Good Faith Violation; this amount includes proceeds from transactions settling today minus unsettled buy transactions, short equity proceeds settling today, and the intraday exercisable value of option positions. Additionally, uncollected deposits may not be reflected in this balance until the deposit has gone through the bank collection process (which is usually four business days). | Intraday |
| Available to Withdraw | ||
| Cash Available to Withdraw | Amount collected and available for immediate withdrawal; this balance includes both Core and other Fidelity Money Market funds held in the account. This balance does not include deposits that have not cleared. Sell orders are reflected in this balance on settlement date and Buy orders are reflected on trade date. | Intraday |
| Other Money Markets | All Fidelity Money Market Funds, other than Core, held as positions in the account | Overnight |
| Options Balances | ||
| Options in the Money | Options that have intrinsic value; a call option is considered in-the-money if the price of the underlying security is higher than the strike price of the call. A put option is considered in-the-money if the price of the security is lower than the strike price. | Real-Time |
| Cash Covered
Put Reserve |
The value required to cover short put option contracts held in a cash account; Cash Covered Put Reserve is equal to the option's strike price multiplied by the number of contracts purchased, multiplied by the number of shares per contract (usually 100). Cash Available to Buy Securities, Cash Available to Withdraw, and Available to Withdraw values will be reduced by this value. | Intraday |
| Cash Spread Reserve | The requirement for spread positions held in a retirement account; for debit spreads, the requirement is full payment of the debit. For credit spreads, it's the difference between the strike prices, or maximum loss. A $5,000 minimum equity deposit is required in addition to the debit or credit requirement. | Overnight |
Option balances appear if an Option Agreement exists. Day trade balances appear if the account is identified as a Pattern Day Trade account.
| Balance | Description | Update Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Total Account Value | The total market value of all positions in the account, including Core Money Market, minus any outstanding debit balances and any amount required to cover short option positions that are in-the-money | Real-Time |
| Account Equity Percentage | The account equity, as a percentage of the total market value of positions in your account; the total market value is calculated by using the real-time absolute market value of all sellable security types in your account including cash, margin and short positions as well as options market value. It also includes options requirements and the exercisable value of cash covered puts while excluding Core. The Total Account Value is divided by the total market value to calculate your Account Equity Percentage. | Real-Time |
| Cash | ||
| Cash (Core) | Account settlement position for trade activity and money movement, including core and other eligible additional Fidelity money markets; executed Buy orders and cash withdrawals will reduce the Core, and executed Sell orders and cash deposits will increase the Core. | Overnight |
| Cash
Credit/Cash Debit |
A Cash Credit is an amount that will be credited to (positive value) the Core at trade settlement. A Cash Debit is an amount that will be debited from (negative value) the Core at trade settlement. | Intraday |
| Securities Held in Cash | The total market value of all long Cash account positions; this figure is reduced by the value of any in-the-money covered options and does not include shares bought on margin, shares held short, or cash in the Core Money Market. | Real-Time |
| Margin | ||
| Margin Credit/Debit | A Margin Credit indicates the amount due to you based on margin trade executions or an amount needed to meet margin requirements. On settlement date, this amount will be journaled (transferred) to your Core if there is surplus in the margin account. A Margin Debit indicates the amount you owe Fidelity based on margin trade executions. If there is cash in your Core, a journal would take place on settlement date to reduce this debit balance. If there was not enough cash in the Core, you would start paying margin interest on this value at settlement. | Intraday |
| Securities Held in Margin | The total market value of all long margin account positions; this figure is reduced by the value of any in-the-money covered options and does not include shares held as Cash positions, shares held short, or cash in the Core Money Market. | Real-Time |
| Short | ||
| Short Credit/Short Debit | A Short Credit is the amount of money held aside to close short positions in an account. This value is compared against the market value of securities held short, and is marked to market weekly. If the market value of the securities held short increases (moves against you), it will cost more to close short positions, and money will be journaled (transferred) from margin and increase the Short Credit balance. If the market value of securities held short decreases (moves in your favor), it will cost less to close short positions, and money will be journaled out of the Short Credit to margin. When a short position is covered and there are insufficient funds held as a Short Credit to cover the position, a Short Debit occurs instead of a Short Credit. This debit would be cleared with the mark to market following settlement. | Intraday |
| Securities Held Short | The total market value of all positions held short in the account; this figure is reduced by the value of any in-the-money covered options and does not include shares held as Cash or Margin positions, or cash in the Core Money Market. | Real-Time |
| Daily Mark to Market |
The difference between the Short Credit balance and the Market Value of Securities Held Short balance which reflects whether short positions have moved in your favor (positive value) or against you (negative value) each day; this balance does not impact the weekly mark to market which occurs each Friday morning. See Short Credit/Short Debit definition for more information about this weekly process. Note: Unsettled short positions are not reflected in this balance. |
Real-Time |
| Short Interest Accrued - Daily | Short interest is accrued daily based on the previous day's short balance. | Overnight |
| Short Interest Accrued - Month to Date | The total amount of short interest accrued during the month; interest rate periods run for 30 calendar days beginning on the 3rd business day of the month until the 2nd business day of the next month. | Overnight |
| Available to Trade | ||
| Intraday Buying Power | This balance applies only to Pattern Day Trade accounts. Unlike Day Trade Buying Power, this value updates on an intraday basis to reflect day trade executions, money movement into and out of the account, Core Cash, and buying power allocated to open orders. | Intraday |
| Margin Buying Power (Fully Marginable Securities) | The maximum dollar amount available, including both cash and margin, to purchase marginable securities without adding money to your account; the balance includes open order commitments, intraday trade executions, and money movement into and out of the account. | Intraday |
| Non-Margin Buying Power (Options, Mutual Funds, Penny Stocks) | Margin buying power available to purchase securities that are not marginable (have a 100% margin requirement). | Intraday |
| Committed to Open Orders | The dollar amount allocated to pending orders that have not yet been executed (for example, buy orders and short sale orders); the amount you have Committed to Open Orders decreases your buying power. | Intraday |
| Available to Trade Without Margin Impact | The maximum dollar amount available to purchase a security without creating a margin debit in your account; the balance includes open order commitments, intraday trade executions, and money movement into and out of the account. Formula = the lesser of non-margin buying power or (core + cash credit/debit - exercisable value + margin credit/debit + (short credit/debit - short market value)) Note: This margin balance attempts to reduce the likelihood of incurring a margin debit balance. However, it is still possible to be charged margin interest by using this balance due to varying security settlement and mark to market dates. | Intraday |
| Available to Withdraw | ||
| Cash Only (Core + Other Money Markets) | Cash Only (Core + Other Money Markets) is the amount collected and available for immediate withdrawal. This balance includes both Core and other Fidelity Money Market funds held in the account. This balance does not include deposits that have not cleared. Proceeds from sell orders are reflected in this balance on settlement date. | Intraday |
| Cash & Borrowing on Margin | Total amount collected and available for immediate withdrawal; this balance includes both Core and other Fidelity Money Market funds held in the account, as well as the amount available to borrow generated from securities held in margin. This balance does not include deposits that have not cleared. Proceeds from Sell orders are reflected in this balance on settlement date. Withdrawals that exceed the cash in the account by using loan value generated from positions held in margin will increase the margin debit balance in the account. | Intraday |
| Additional Balances | ||
| Margin Equity | The value of all securities held in margin, minus the amount of in-the-money covered options and margin debt (if any) in the account. | Real-Time |
| House Surplus/Call | A House Surplus is the amount of margin equity in the account above the Fidelity minimum requirement (which ranges from 30% to 100%). If the margin equity in the account falls below Fidelity's minimum requirement, this value will be reflected as a House Call. Generally, House Calls must be met within five business days, but Fidelity may cover the call at any time. | Real-Time |
| Exchange Surplus/Call | An Exchange Surplus (also known as NYSE Surplus) is the amount of margin equity in the account above the NYSE minimum requirement (currently 25%). If the margin equity in the account falls below 25%, this value will be reflected as an Exchange Call. Generally, Exchange Calls must be met within 48 hours, but Fidelity may cover the call at any time. | Real-Time |
| SMA/Fed Call | Special Memorandum Account/Federal Call; when the margin equity in the account exceeds the federal Regulation T requirement of 50%, the amount in excess of the requirement is referred to as the SMA. If the Regulation T initial requirement is not met, a Fed Call is issued against the account. Generally, Fed Calls must be met within five business days, but Fidelity may cover the call at any time. | Intraday |
| Additional Buying Power | ||
| Day Trade Buying Power (Start of Day)/Minimum Equity Call | This balance field only applies to pattern day trade accounts. It represents a start-of-day value and does not update during the course of the trading day to reflect trade executions or money movement. A pattern day trade account is required to maintain minimum margin equity of $25,000. If the margin equity falls below this value, this field name will change to Minimum Equity Call and the value indicated is what is due to meet the minimum equity requirement. | Overnight |
| Day Trade Call | A Day Trade Call is generated whenever an executed day trade exceeds the account's Day Trade Buying Power. Customers have five business days to meet the call. | Overnight |
| Cash Buying Power | The amount available to purchase securities in a Cash account without adding money to the account; an executed buy order will reduce this value, and an executed sell order will increase this value at the time of execution. | Intraday |
| Settled Cash | The portion of your Cash (Core) balance that represents the amount of a security you can buy and sell in a Cash account without creating a Good Faith Violation; this amount includes proceeds from transactions settling today minus unsettled buy transactions, short equity proceeds settling today, and the intraday exercisable value of option positions. In addition, uncollected deposits may not be reflected in this balance until the deposit has gone through the bank collection process, which usually takes four business days. | Intraday |
| Corporate Bonds | Margin buying power available to purchase corporate bonds; most corporate bonds are marginable, but margin requirements may vary based on the type of bond. | Intraday |
| Municipal Bonds | Margin buying power available to purchase municipal bonds. | Intraday |
| Government Bonds | Margin buying power available to purchase government bonds. | Intraday |
| Additional Option Balances | ||
| Options in the Money | Options that have intrinsic value; a call option is considered in-the-money if the price of the underlying security is higher than the strike price. A put option is considered in-the-money if the price of the security is lower than the strike price. | Real-Time |
| Cash Covered Put Reserve | The value required to cover short put option contracts held in a Cash account; Cash Covered Put Reserve is equal to the options strike price, multiplied by the number of contracts purchased, multiplied by the number of shares per contract (usually 100). Cash Available to Buy Securities, Cash Available to Withdraw, and Available to Withdraw values will be reduced by this value. | Intraday |
| Cash Spread Reserve | The requirement for spread positions held in a retirement account. For debit spreads, the requirement is full payment of the debit; for credit spreads, it's the difference between the strike prices or maximum loss. A $5,000 minimum equity deposit is required in addition to the debit or credit requirement. | Overnight |
Limited Margin allows you to trade on unsettled funds and without triggering trading restrictions, such as good faith violations, in an IRA. Limited Margin does not allow for borrowing against existing holdings, account leveraging, creating cash or margin debits, short selling of securities, or selling naked options. It allows for day trading of stocks and options (option agreement required) in your IRA.
Only the following IRA registrations are eligible for Limited Margin:
Eligibility requirements for Limited Margin in IRAs are as follows:
Once you complete the online enrollment process, Limited Margin is immediately available on your account. The Cash/Margin trade type drop down will appear on the trade ticket and default to Margin for orders placed in your IRA. Securities intended to be day traded must be placed in the trade type, Margin; otherwise, you'll be subject to cash account trading restrictions.
Note: Proceeds from Margin positions held overnight and liquidated the next business day are not available to be purchased in the Margin trade type until the following business day (trade date + 2 days). For example, let's say you purchased symbol XYZ in Margin on Monday and held it overnight, then you sold symbol XYZ on Tuesday morning. The proceeds from this sale will not be available for additional purchases in the Margin account type until Wednesday.
After enrolling in Limited Margin, you will see some new balances in your IRA.
On the Balances tool, there will be new balances available for accounts approved for Limited Margin:
Note: Intraday Buying power will not exceed Day Trade Buying Power (Start of Day)—any day trade losses will decrement Intraday buying power, while day trade gains will offset losses until the start of day balance has been reached. For example, Day Trade Buying Power (Start of Day) = $50,000, followed by a day trade loss of $5,000; new Intraday Buying Power will be $45,000. Next day trade is a gain of $3,000, new Intraday Buying Power will be $48,000, third day trade is a gain of $5,000, Intraday Buying Power will be $50,000. Proceeds from a trade held overnight from a prior day will not be available for day trades until the next day.
Portfolio margin is another method of calculating margin requirements. Unlike the traditional Initial/Regulation T (Reg T) margin calculation method, portfolio margin measures the risk in your overall portfolio and uses that to determine your margin requirement. As a result of these calculations, margin requirements may be as low as 15% for a well-diversified account with long and short market exposure. Since portfolio margin measures overall portfolio risk, it is best suited for a well-diversified portfolio. If a portfolio is heavily invested in an individual stock or sector, higher margin requirements may be placed on the account. An account that uses portfolio margin is not subject to Initial/Reg T margin requirements.
Buying power for portfolio margin accounts is calculated by taking either your exchange or house surplus (whichever is lower), adding your net cash positions (cash in your core account plus any cash credit or debit balance, and excluding non-core money market funds), and multiplying the sum by 4. For example, say you have $12,000 in exchange surplus, $10,000 in house surplus, and net cash of $5,000. When calculating your margin, we'd take the $10,000 in house surplus, add your net cash of $5,000, and multiply by 4. Your buying power in this example would be $60,000, meaning you would be able to purchase up to that amount of a fully marginable security. However, keep in mind, depending on your existing positions, if investing the entire $60,000 into a single position results in a concentrated position, additional margin requirements may apply.
Eligibility Requirements for Portfolio Margin
To apply for portfolio margin, please call us at 800-544-6666 and we will walk you through the application process, which includes completing an interview questionnaire. You will also need to sign and return the Portfolio Margin Supplemental Account Agreement. Our application review process includes a review of your application, your financial suitability, and a credit check by our Risk Management Credit Committee. Generally, the process takes 5-7 business days. Once your application has been reviewed, we will notify you of its status.
Trading in a Portfolio Margin Account
Portfolio margin accounts are subject to margin maintenance, minimum equity, and pattern day trade calls.
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