How to Use the Margin Calculator
Pick your symbol and see what a position commits before you place it.
- Choose your symbol or asset class. It sets the contract size and River Valley Capital's leverage for that market.
- Enter your trade size in lots.
- Enter the current instrument price.
- Adjust the contract size or leverage if your exact symbol differs from the preset.
The calculator shows the margin the position ties up and its full notional value, so you can see how much of your account a trade uses.
How Margin and Leverage Work
Margin is the deposit a leveraged position ties up while it is open. Leverage sets how large a position that deposit controls: at 50:1, every $1 of margin supports $50 of position.
To work out the margin, multiply your lot size by the contract size and the instrument price to get the full notional value, then divide by your leverage. Lower leverage ties up more margin for the same trade.
- Higher leverage frees up margin but magnifies both gains and losses.
- The notional value is your real market exposure, not the margin.
- Different markets carry different leverage, so check the figure for your instrument.
River Valley Capital Leverage
River Valley Capital sets leverage by market: 50:1 on forex, 10:1 on gold and indices, 5:1 on other metals, 2:1 on crypto and 1:1 on oil. The presets in the calculator match these, so you can see the margin for a real River Valley position.
See the full market list on the trading instruments page, and the rules behind every account in the trading rules.
More Free Trading Tools
Round out the trade with River Valley Capital's other free calculators:
- Position size calculator to size a trade from your account risk.
- Risk/reward ratio calculator to check the ratio and break-even win rate.
- Pip value calculator to price a one-pip move.
- Drawdown and payout calculator for your loss limit, floor and payout.