Options are margin transactions, and investors need to pay a certain margin to sell options and open positions. In option trading, the obligor of the option may cause serious losses in an unfavorable market situation. In order to avoid the debtor's default as much as possible, it is necessary to pay the deposit in advance.

In the full simulation trading of options in Shanghai Stock Exchange, cash can only be used as the margin of other selling positions except the open position of covered positions. When opening a position, the corresponding number of contract targets in the spot securities account will be locked as margin; When closing the position, the original locked contract target will also be unlocked.

What's the difference between option margin and futures margin?

Both buyers and sellers of futures contracts need to pay a certain margin. In option trading, only the option seller needs to pay the deposit to show that it has the corresponding performance ability, while the buyer does not need to pay the deposit because he only holds the rights and does not assume the obligations.

How to calculate the deposit?

Suppose the current price of 50ETF is 1.478 yuan, and the customer sells a call option with the exercise price of 1.3 yuan, and the investor needs to pay at least an initial deposit of 4 137 yuan. In other words, investors need to pay an initial deposit of at least 4 137 yuan before selling and opening positions. After the daily closing, the maintenance deposit is calculated according to the latest settlement price.

Can securities companies use customer deposits?

The client's deposit shall be charged by the securities company to the client, and the charging ratio shall not be lower than that charged by China Clearing Shanghai Branch to the securities company. The deposit belongs to the customer, and the self-operated business and brokerage business of the securities company are settled separately. It is strictly forbidden to use customer deposits for other purposes.

Compulsory liquidation system

When investors sell options, they need to pay the initial margin, and with the fluctuation of the underlying asset price, they need to add the maintenance margin. When investors' margin is insufficient and not replenished in time, they will face the risk of forced liquidation.

What circumstances may lead to compulsory liquidation?

When certain circumstances occur, China Clearing has the right to take compulsory liquidation measures. For example, contract adjustment may lead to a shortage of covered open positions, and investors may face the risk of forced liquidation if they fail to replenish the underlying securities within the specified time and fail to close their positions themselves. Therefore, ex-rights, ex-interest, rights issue, dividends, etc. When it happens, investors should pay close attention to the margin in the account and lock the securities, so as to know well and avoid the occurrence of forced liquidation.

In addition, when the investor's margin is insufficient, the securities company will issue a notice of additional margin. If the investor fails to make up the margin in time, the securities company may forcibly close some or all of the investor's positions until the retained margin meets the specified requirements to make up for the deficiency of the margin.

What are the consequences of compulsory liquidation?

An exchange or a securities company forcibly liquidates investors, with the purpose of preventing the expansion and spread of risks in time. In operation, securities companies will generally level the contracts with large positions and good liquidity in the market in recent months. The price of forced liquidation is formed through market transactions, but there is no guarantee of forced liquidation at the best price, which may bring losses to investors.

In addition, securities companies will set multi-level deposit collection standards for different types of customers according to investors' assets and credit records. The record of breach of contract, failure to cooperate with early warning notice and forced liquidation will all affect the credit status of investors, and then affect the margin level of customers. Therefore, investors are reminded to pay attention to their positions and margin status in time, pay the margin or the underlying securities in time or close their positions on their own when receiving the early warning notice, so as to avoid the risk of forced liquidation.