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Day trade calls
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What is a day trade call?

Even with accounts valued above US$25,000, FINRA’s rules limit the value customers can use to day trade. This limit is called day trading buying power. If a customer exceeds this limit, a day trade call (aka margin call) will be issued. 

When you receive a 'day trade call' via email, you will need to deposit the necessary amount to restore your day trade buying power. 

This is how this limit is calculated by our U.S. broker-dealer:

Exchange               =    Market value (stocks)   x     25%
requirement

Exchange               =    Equity (stocks + cash)  -  Exchange requirement
margin excess

Day trade             =    4     x     Exchange margin excess
Buying power 

Day Trade Call Definitions

Your day-trading buying power is equal to four times the excess of the exchange margin i.e. 4 x the Exchange margin excess:

The Exchange requirement is equal to the Market value (stocks) of your portfolio x 25%

The Exchange margin excess is calculated by the Equity (value of stocks plus cash in your portfolio) minus the exchange requirement

Therefore, Day-trading buying power is equal to four times the Exchange margin excess buying power (4 x exchange margin excess). 

What happens if you exceed this limit?  

If this limit is exceeded and a day trade call is issued, Stake will notify the customer that they have up to five business days to deposit funds to meet the call. 

Until the call is met, the account will be restricted to a day trading buying power of 2x the exchange margin excess. If the day trade call is not met by the deadline, the account will be further restricted to the exchange margin excess.     

If a customer has an unmet call and receives a second day trade call, the account is restricted and they will not be allowed to place any further day trades for the following 90 days or until the calls are met.     

This restriction only prevents customers from making day trades (as defined above). Apart from that, the account can still be used for non-day trades.      

Some things to consider:    

Day trade calls and Pattern Day Trade restrictions are different, but both are very important for day trading and are imposed by FINRA, not Stake. Those marked as Pattern Day Traders could face more limitations than the 90-day trade restriction, at the discretion of our U.S. broker-dealer, DriveWealth.   

Margin requirements are calculated based on the customer’s securities positions at the close of the trading day. A customer who only day trades and does not have a security position at the end of the day still has generated financial risk throughout the day. These rules impose a margin requirement for day trading calculated based on the customer’s largest open position during the day.     

DriveWealth is free to impose a higher equity requirement than the minimum specified in the rules. The rules also prohibit the use of cross-guarantees to meet any of the day-trading margin requirements. 

For more information, please access the FINRA website or contact us here.


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Stakeshop Pty Ltd, trading as Stake, ACN 610105505, is an authorised representative (Authorised Representative No. 1241398) of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd (Australian Financial Services Licence No. 337927) ('Sanlam') and an authorised representative (Authorised Representative No. 1241398) of Airwallex Pty Ltd (Australian Financial Services Licence No. 487221) ('Airwallex'). Stake is not authorised by Airwallex under Airwallex’s AFSL to arrange for clients to be issued with securities as Airwallex is not authorised under its AFSL for this purpose. Stake is not authorised by Sanlam under Sanlam’s AFSL to arrange for clients to be issued with a non-cash payment facility as Sanlam is not authorised under its AFSL for this purpose. Stake SMSF Pty Ltd (‘Stake Super’) is not licensed to provide financial product advice under the Corporations Act. This specifically applies to any financial products which are established if you instruct Stake Super to set up a self managed super fund (‘SMSF’). When you sign up to Stake Super, you are contracting with Stake SMSF Pty Ltd who will assist in the establishment of a SMSF under a ‘no advice model’. You will also be referred to Stakeshop Pty Ltd to enable your trading account and bank account to be set up in order to use the Stake Website and/or App. Stakeshop Pty Ltd will also run marketing and promotions to you under. For more information about SMSFs, see our SMSF Risks page.The information on our website or our mobile application is not intended to be an inducement, offer or solicitation to anyone in any jurisdiction in which Stake is not regulated or able to market its services. At Stake and Stake Super, we’re focused on giving you a better investing experience but we don’t take into account your personal objectives, circumstances or financial needs. Any advice given by Stake is of a general nature only. As investments carry risk, before making any investment decision, please consider if it’s right for you and seek appropriate taxation and legal advice. Please view our Financial Services GuideTerms & ConditionsPrivacy Policy and Disclaimers  before deciding to invest on or use Stake or Stake Super. By using our website or service in any way, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. All financial products involve risk and you should ensure you understand the risks involved as certain financial products may not be suitable to everyone. Past performance of any product described on this website is not a reliable indication of future performance. Stake and Stake Super are registered trademarks in Australia.

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