Eligible Securities & Margin at RBC Direct Investing

Cash & Margin Accounts: An Overview

Investment cash accounts and margin accounts are non-registered accounts that can help you, a group of people or an organization reach an investing goal. Unlike registered accounts, in non-registered accounts you have to pay tax on the growth of your investments (capital gains, dividends and interest) when they they are sold.

With an investment cash account, you use your own cash to pay for the securities you want to buy. A margin account, on the other hand, lets you borrow money against the investments in your account to buy securities.

Investment cash and margin accounts allow investors to:

Hold a diversified portfolio and choose from a wide array of investments – stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, mutual funds, GICs, money-market investments, bonds and more
Access North American exchanges and over-the-counter markets
Save for shorter-term goals, such as a major purchase, or supplement a longer-term goal like retirement

Good to know:

You can designate someone to place orders on your behalf, if you wish
Accounts can be held individually or jointly

Investment cash accounts do not automatically allow you to trade options or trade on margin. If interested, you'll need to apply for a margin account or an options-enabled account. You can also choose to add these features to an existing account.

Leveraging investments may appear attractive, but you must be aware of the implications if the market conditions change from when you originally used your investment(s) to calculate your margin loan value. You could be faced with increased monthly loan payments due to increased interest rates, or a possible margin call if your account becomes under-margined due to a drop in market prices.

Find out more about margin in Understanding Margin Accounts.

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