Margin Trading from A to Z: A Complete Guide to Borrowing, Investing and Regulation (Wiley Trading) [Hardcover]

M. T. Curley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2008 | Series: Wiley Trading (Book 352)

Margin Trading from A to Z offers a step-by-step explanation of the mechanics of the margin account. Filled with in-depth insights and expert advice, this book uses a hands-on approach to show how a Regulation T Margin Call is arrived at; how it may be answered; and how an account looks once a call is issued and after the call is met. Other items covered by this detailed guide include minimum maintenance requirements, short selling, memorandum accounts, options, hedge funds, and portfolio margining. The book includes quiz questions and a comprehensive exam.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Trading on margin may be considered a high-risk strategy, but purchasing securities in this manner is nothing more than purchasing securities on credit. And if properly performed, this investment approach can yield significant profits.

While there's risk in any leveraged investment, with knowledge of the product, diversification, and constant monitoring, this risk can be greatly reduced. Certainly, there is nothing new in these concepts, and nobody is more familiar with them than author Michael Curley. With over fifty years of experience in the field of finance—including fifteen years in the banking industry and fifteen years in the brokerage industry—Curley knows what it takes to make it as a successful investor, and now, with Margin Trading from A to Z, he'll show you how.

Margin Trading from A to Z offers a step-by-step explanation of the mechanics of the margin account. Filled with in-depth insights and expert advice, this book uses a hands-on approachto show how a Regulation T margin call is arrived at; how it may be answered; and what an account looks like once a call is issued and after the call is met.

Throughout these pages, you'll quickly become familiar with the essential elements of margin trading and learn how to operate within this dynamic environment. Some of the issues covered by this detailed guide include:

• Initial and minimum maintenance requirements

• The intricacies of the Special Memorandum Account (SMA)

• Margin trading as it relates to short selling, bonds, and options

• The opportunities that a Portfolio Margining methodology presents

• And much more

Each information-packed chapter also contains challenging quizzes to test your knowledge of each area before you move on. In addition to this, there's a comprehensive fifty-question exam—along with detailed answers—located in the appendix, which presents questions related to the entire book.

There are substantial benefits to trading on margin, but if you're unprepared, you could end up making some very costly mistakes. Written with the serious investor in mind, Margin Trading from A to Z will help you build a solid understanding of this discipline and allow you to take advantage of all it has to offer.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Margin Trading from A to Z

"A comprehensive and indispensable look at margin and margin trading. From the fundamentals of 'Regulation T' to the complexity of 'Shorting Against the Box,'Margin Trading from A to Z is a must-read for anyone working in the investment world or investors ready to take the next step into margin trading."

—Patrick J. Flynn, CPA, Registered Representative, Managing Principal, Flynn, Abell & Associates, LLC

"Known in the industry as 'Margin Mike,' Mike Curley has been the experts' expert on margin accounting and regulation over the past four decades. This book takes the mystery out of margin computations and is a must-read for individual investors and professionals alike who wish to expand their understanding and knowledge of margin accounting and regulation."

—Ben Lubin, President, Securities Industry Management Corp., and former NASD governor and chair of the Capital & Margin Compliance

"Mike's knowledge of margin rules is outstanding. As a recruiter on Wall Street, I use his book as a reference for my candidates who need to brush up on current rules."

—Daniel Collins, founder and CEO, Daniel Collins and Company

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 187 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470173947
• ISBN-13: 978-0470173947
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #526,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Margin works in your trading account, December 6, 2009

By 

Steve Burns (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Margin Trading from A to Z: A Complete Guide to Borrowing, Investing and Regulation (Wiley Trading) (Hardcover)

The author does a good job in this book of showing how margin works. He does this with specific scenarios showing what your account looks like after taking a stock position on margin. The book breaks down what your equity market value is after a purchase and what your debit and equity balance looks like. You will also see how these change with the fluctuation of the market value of your equity. The book shows what the minimum equity requirement is to maintain a position on margin before you get a margin call. The book explains the anatomy of how a short sale works in a margin account. He discusses the minimum cash requirement for pattern day trading ($25,000) and how you can use the maximum amount of margin to day trade by always getting out of your positions on the same day you purchase an equity. The book has an outstanding chapter on options, really explaining how they work along with their margin requirements for trading them. There is also a chapter on what is called a portfolio margin account, which allows for much more leverage than the traditional 50% margin account requirement. This type of account adjusts margin based on risk, you can hedge your positions by holding put or call options that insure your holdings and minimize your risk. Doing this inside a portfolio margin account allows you to 10 times leverage of more due to the low risk position. (However this type of account has large capital requirements of $100,000 or more). This book is for beginners, and I would recommend reading it if you want a better understanding of how margin works. If you plan on being a day trader you will need a margin account to be able to trade enough size to profit daily.