AHZ and Comsec - Good and Bad, page-5

Hi lex and thanks For the advice.
A few things
1. I've actually made a lot of money using margin loans
2. I normally keep a very healthy buffer and at that stage I was 20% in the green.
3. When I buy stock like ahz, it's usually done by liquidating other non margin stocks in the portfolio or transferring cash into the portfolio.
4. Using a margin loan is similar to a CFD. If used sensibly, generally no issues.
5. My fail was not realising a sizeable portion of ahz was on margin on legacy.
6. I have enough balance in other stocks to cover big falls
7. I finished the day with my normal healthy margin in tact thanks to Commsec.
8. The interest i pay is tax deductible.

I normally calculate my margin when buying a stock by asking myself what is the worst price this can go to, then subtract a bit more, and a bit more again.

Generally I'm careful with it. Yesterday showed that I hadn't read the fine print.

Anyone happy to share the experience.

Just shows even a great green day can cause you headaches.