INTRODUCTION
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Please check back regularly.
There has been lot of discussion about the Upcoming Increase in Margin Requirements here:
[CFD] Upcoming Increase in Margin Requirements - postponed for 01.12.2020
However, that topic now has almost 900 posts, so it’s difficult for people to quickly glean the information they need. The intention of this topic is to address that by keeping all the current information in the first few posts: Please feel free to suggest new content
SUMMARY
Trading 212 made the following announcement on Friday:
Upcoming Increase in Margin Requirements
Trading 212 have provided the following guidance:
For any queries, regarding the upcoming changes Trading212 are making to the CFD Margin requirements, please refer to the legal documentaion, which can be found here:
THE CALCULATORS (Community Created)
@obrienciaran and @Richard.W have both developed calculators. They were intended to help people understand the impact of the margin changes. Trading 212 have not been involved in the development of the calculators, so they’re not official.
We currently recommend the use of this calculator because it contains the latest bug-fixes and features:
We welcome and encourage anybody who has a solid understanding of margins to test this calculator and let us know if you find any issues with it. We hope that Trading 212 staff will contribute to that effort as they may be able to think of scenarios that have not been considered.
As we are still testing and refining the calculator, we recommend that you revisit it regularly to ensure you are seeing the most up-to-date predictions.
Please note that the calculator is only able to produce accurate (hopefully!) results for portfolios that only contain stocks, as only stocks are affected by the margin change.
There is a topic dedicated to the calculators:
CFD Calculator for leverage change
Or you can access calculators directly:
Calculator 1contains known bugs
Calculator 2
GLOSSARY
These terms are used in both the Trading 212 website and the iOS app. Can somebody confirm that they are used consistently in the Android app please?
The LIVE RESULT, FREE FUNDS, BLOCKED FUNDS, USED MARGIN, ACCOUNT VALUE and STATUS values can be found at the bottom of the Trading 212 website, from left to right.
For your information:
ACCOUNT VALUE = BLOCKED FUNDS + FREE FUNDS
My personal investigations suggest that:
ACCOUNT VALUE = (Deposit - Withdrawal) + (Dividend - Interest) + Realised Profit/Loss (Result) + Unrealised Profit/Loss (LIVE RESULT)
All of the above parameters are generally static (ignoring when dividends are paid or interest is charged), except “Unrealised Profit/Loss”, which fluctuates due to price and exchange rate changes. BLOCKED FUNDS will also fluctuate for the same reason, or when margins are changed. FREE FUNDS is then just ACCOUNT VALUE - BLOCKED FUNDS.
FAQ
WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
IF PORTFOLIO ONLY CONTAINS STOCKS
It’s important to understand that your Profits/Losses won’t change, but if any positions are liquidated then they will move from unrealised to realised Profits/Losses.
SUMMARY - AFTER THE MARGIN INCREASE, IF YOUR MARGIN STATUS STAYS ABOVE 25% THEN THE ONLY CHANGE TO YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE THAT YOUR FREE FUNDS HAVE DECREASED AND YOUR BLOCKED FUNDS HAVE INCREASED (by 1.5 x BLOCKED FUNDS). You can use the calculators to check what your MARGIN STATUS will be after the increase.
BLOCKED FUNDS are increasing by 1.5 x BLOCKED FUNDS (NEW BLOCKED FUNDS = 2.5 x BLOCKED FUNDS). Therefore, in order to maintain the same MARGIN STATUS, you’d need to add 1.5 x ACCOUNT VALUE (NEW ACCOUNT VALUE = 2.5 x ACCOUNT VALUE). I imagine that this will be out of the question for many people. However, since your leverage is dropping from 1:5 to 1:2, your portfolio will be less affected by movements in stock prices. It is therefore arguable that you don’t need to keep your MARGIN STATUS at its existing level (NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE). I therefore recommend using the calculators to determine how much funds you need to add (if any) to establish a new MARGIN STATUS that you’re comfortable with. You should use both calculators and verify that their results match.
IF PORTFOLIO CONTAINS INSTRUMENTS OTHER THAN STOCKS (e.g. INDEXES, COMMODITIES, FOREX, etc.)
If you don’t have time to do the complex calculation yourself, I think you could still use the calculators (despite the warnings) in order to get a worst-case-scenario. The original calculator will show a “Margin after leverage change if no action taken” that is too low (GOOD, extra contingency) and both calculators will show a “funds to add” figure that is too high (GOOD, extra contingency - you can always withdraw the funds once you’ve seen the actual effect of the margin increase).
RESERVED FOR FUTURE USE 2
May not be required
EDIT LIMIT
SORRY THAT I’VE LEFT THIS SO INCOMPLETE!
It turns out that there’s a limit to the number of edits I can make, so now I have to wait 19 hours before I can add anything to the above posts! I can create new posts though.
I’ll keep working in the background but there’s not much I can do at the moment!
Thanks for everything contributed @Supraman & @obrienciaran, very kind and generous.
If @Team212 can work a way to remove those edit restrictions - that’d be awesome.
If anyone has anything to add, like mentioned above, feel free to post below. 
@adm do you work for T212?
No, I just help out on the forum that’s all. I’m just a normal investor like yourself.
People have helped me out & I’m just returning the favour.
Check out this post for information about a new calculator developed by @Richard.W:
As described in the post, please try both calculators and let me know if the results are different.
Is there any information on when the leverage will be reset to 1:5?
Not yet, we just got the notification of being put on 1:2 and T212 don’t know how long it will take for market conditions to return to normal.
I’m afraid not. I’ll add to the FAQ though. Thanks.
Hi Supraman, as you look quite sharp on the topic could you clarify to my a couple of points plz:
1 - as the leverage decrease the position on profit will exponentially reduce but what about these that are loosing? Will them decrease the lose? For example what will happen to a position that is currently loosing 2K.
2 - I’ve used the calculator and following my parameters it came out that as it stand my account will drop at 23.5% and I’ll need to deposit 18.5K to keep my account at the current 55%… Can you tell me if I’m going wrong here or I’m basically fucked?
Thanks in advance!!!
I’m not really an expert but I’ve been trying really hard to develop an understanding of all this.
Did you use both calculators and, if so, did they match?
Does your portfolio only contain stocks?
Can you send me your 2 figures, either on here or privately?
I’ve used only the first, it won’t be 100%accurate as I have 1800£on the Ftse100 so will be better then what it shows but still a bit of a shock ( I will upload both pics of calculator and balance ).
Now I’veanaged to get rid off most of the accounts with positive figures but I still have many on negative.
I’ve got that if they reduce the leverage my positive figures will decrease, but if so, will also the negative figures improve their lose??
Please let me know what’s your thoughts bout it.
