Identifier: C3T2L4 · Revision: 2026-10-26 · Classification: domestic

Decision and objectives

Calculate a broker add-on and an intraday cash gap. The decision record must connect the exposure, cash dates and implementable contract, rather than stop at a favorable price forecast.

By the end, you can calculate a broker add-on and an intraday cash gap; distinguish a risk trigger from a guaranteed exit price; set a funded response before forced closure.

Prerequisite: C3T2L3; completed Classes 1 and 2 and the Stock Market School foundation or Forex School foundation. All cases below are hypothetical; their prices, costs, rates, dates, contractual assumptions and collateral amounts are teaching inputs, not current offers.

Mechanics

A member can demand collateral beyond the clearing minimum. The customer agreement determines notification, acceptable transfers and rights to reduce positions, subject to applicable rules. A margin call is an obligation to act; it is not a promise that the broker will wait for your preferred sale. Intraday risk can trigger action before end-of-day settlement.

A liquidation order still needs a counterparty. Stops and forced closure do not cap loss when the market gaps, reaches limits or has no executable depth.

Price and return drivers

Under the supplied hypothetical account policy, customer requirement = clearing illustration × broker factor. Headroom = eligible equity − customer requirement. If cash transfer is delayed, subsequent market losses consume the same headroom; do not count an uncredited transfer as available.

Worked case

Illustrative clearing amount is TRY 40,000 and broker factor 1.25, giving TRY 50,000 customer requirement. Posted cash TRY 60,000 leaves TRY 10,000 headroom. A loss of TRY 14,000 reduces equity to TRY 46,000, so the call to restore TRY 50,000 is TRY 4,000. An assumed emergency borrowing rate 48% actual/360 for five days costs 4,000 × 0.48 × 5/360 = TRY 26.67. Commission on the original trade is excluded here; the funding cost is additional to the market loss.

Adverse case

Before a promised transfer credits, a further TRY 9,000 market loss brings equity to TRY 37,000 and the gap to TRY 13,000. A forced closure incurs TRY 500 execution cost, leaving TRY 36,500 and crystallizing total TRY 23,500 trading and liquidation loss from the initial TRY 60,000. If a gap is still larger, the account can owe money after liquidation. A broker factor is not insurance.

Practical use

Read the current account agreement, risk disclosure, contact channels, cutoffs and liquidation priority. Verify whether the member can liquidate other holdings and whether noncash collateral can fund a cash debit. Do not infer one broker's factor from another's website. Maintain a liquid reserve at the required location and include emergency funding, liquidation spread, commission and tax in the full decision.

Reconcile the confirmation, position register and cash statement separately. Costs include the quoted bid/ask spread, brokerage and clearing charges, collateral or principal financing, currency conversion, custody where relevant, and exit or termination charges. A mark is not a fill. Any amount explicitly excluded below remains outside the reported result. Tax is excluded from these teaching cases: an actual comparison requires income year, investor residence and individual/corporate status, contract and acquisition dates, settlement form and effective law. The GIB guide, checked 2026-10-26, covers 2025 individual investment income, so its publication date alone does not settle a 2026 derivative liability.

Decision boundaries

Predefine a voluntary reduction when the cash reserve reaches its limit, while acknowledging that exit may be unavailable. Reduce the position or choose a different instrument before opening if the response depends on an uncommitted credit line. A margin call can occur during an economically effective hedge.

Practice and references

Exercise: clearing illustration TRY 30,000, hypothetical member factor 1.4, equity TRY 45,000; loss TRY 8,000. Solution: requirement TRY 42,000; pre-loss headroom TRY 3,000; post-loss equity TRY 37,000 and top-up TRY 5,000. A quoted factor alone does not determine whether a transfer will arrive in time.

Takeaway: Set a funded response before forced closure using the actual cash schedule, with every excluded cost and remaining exposure stated.

Reference card: viop-future. Formula: Broker margin headroom. Glossary: Margin call, Forced closure. Next lesson: C3T2L5. Topic test.

Sources and verification date (2026-10-26):

Shared reference guide