IBKR trading messages

[OxygeN]

Hi there.
Do you know what following messages on IBKR want to tell me?

• Account XXXXXX up more than 1.67k
• Margin cushion: 1.86% remaining (Account XXXXXX)

Thanks!

 

[Baptiste Wicht]

Hi,

Do you have a margin account?

I guess the first line tells you that you have 1.67k in profits. But the second one should indicate that you are on margin and that you have little "margin" left.

 

[OxygeN]

Where can I check if I have a margin account? I don't even know what this is, TBH...

 

[Max]

Hi there.
Do you know what following messages on IBKR want to tell me?

• Account XXXXXX up more than 1.67k
• Margin cushion: 1.86% remaining (Account XXXXXX)

Thanks!

The first one relates to the daily change of the account. The second one relates to the margin. From my experience, it might appear even in non-margin accounts - then it has no importance.

You can check your notification settings in the mobile app: press the bell icon in the upper right corner -> press the adjusting levers icon in the upper right corner.
Or in the browser version: press the bell icon in the upper right corner and choose "Notification Settings"/"Benachrichtigungseinstellungen".

 

[Baptiste Wicht]

Where can I check if I have a margin account? I don't even know what this is, TBH...

Simply go into your account settings. There should be a line where it says "Account Type" and it should be either cash or Margin (or some other name with Margin inside).

 

[Michael]

I do not have margin account but I think I got that also with my cash account. As far as I remember for cash accounts this "cushion" referred to how much cash I had left in relation to total portfolio.
Would that match your portfolio?

 

[OxygeN]

Thank you all. Yes, the 1.86% is matching my portfolio.
And yes, my account type is "cash", so I will ignore the "margin cushion" messages in the future.
Thanks!

 

[Giovanni385267]

Hey! Looks like your account gained 1.67k, so your positions are up. But watch out – that "margin cushion" is the margin buffer. 1.86% is really low, meaning you're close to a margin call! You might need to add funds or reduce exposure.

P.S. I'd be careful with margin, because if it drops more, you might get hit with a margin call. Keep an eye on it!

 

[OxygeN]

Hi @Giovanni385267 - what do you mean by being careful with margin?

 

[Michael]

Hi @Giovanni385267 - what do you mean by being careful with margin?

Nothing to worry about if you're on a cash account (as you said), so the message does *not* mean you will get a margin call (i.e. if stocks drop they won't sell any of it to get their margin/loan back, which can happen if you borrow money in a margin account).
I think @Giovanni385267 mixed something up here.

 

[OxygeN]

Oh, and as we're at it: I've set to automatically re-invest the dividends I receive from VT. For now I've just seen the dividends getting paid into my USD cash account. Do I have to wait some more days, or do I have to manually intervene?

 

[Baptiste Wicht]

Oh, and as we're at it: I've set to automatically re-invest the dividends I receive from VT. For now I've just seen the dividends getting paid into my USD cash account. Do I have to wait some more days, or do I have to manually intervene?

You probably have to wait until you get enough for a full share unless you have enabled fractional trading.

 

[OxygeN]

You probably have to wait until you get enough for a full share unless you have enabled fractional trading.

It was done just one day after receiving the dividends. I think I have fractional treading enabled, but where can I verify this setting?

 

[Baptiste Wicht]

Normally, you can find this in Account Settings -> Permissions