Maintenance Margin

Maintenance Margin is the minimum amount of equity, expressed as a percentage of the current market value of the securities or contracts, that an investor must maintain in a margin account to keep a leveraged position open and avoid a margin call. This critical threshold, often set by regulatory bodies like FINRA at 25% for equities but varying significantly in the FX and futures markets, acts as a protective buffer for the broker against potential losses from adverse price movements.