Should I buy Stocks on Margin?

[G50-Love]

That would give me a lot of leverage for the coming big zoom upward in stocks!

[stomachmonkey]

Ahh, buying stocks on margin.

Personal experience is you'd have more fun going to vegas and betting it all on one spin of a roulette wheel.

But you may know what you are doing so....

[Dantilla]

Better you than me........

[imcarthur]

Buying margins/shorting are a great way for amateurs to lose money rapidly. My step-son has many stories from his tenure at BMO online brokerage. Go for it if you are feeling lucky & don't bet retirement funds.

Ian

[on2wheels52]

I've got a fair amount in the market but you'd have to have a lot more faith in it than me to have a margin account.
Jim

[boba]

I have had and used a margin account in the past. It is not for the faint of heart. Keep in mind that you must make more than the interest rate on the account. Remember to only play with what you can afford to lose. All it takes is a run like the last two weeks to get that margin call, and it can have nothing to do with your picks. If you do not have the ability to lose and your broker is encouraging you, run.

[recycled sixtie]

About 5 years ago I took $$$ out of my brokerage account so I could buy a condo to rent out. So in effect my stock was on margin then. Eventually paid it off. However I was diversified in real estate and stocks. I think it is foolish but I know tempting to buy now on margin. If the stock market goes down, then the broker may call on u to pony up more $$$. Then u become stressed, then can u sleep at night? To me it is not worth it. However it is your $$$$$! Not mine.

[p911dad]

no

[ben parrish]

NO!!! Not a good idea! Remember Cisco and Sun Micro Systems? Remember what they did between 1998 and 2000? Well, I do.
Still pisses me off about the great "margin account" I used to buy into those; then like a fool, just paid the interest for a while betting it would come back.
Losing 20k that is borrowed sucks!

[techweenie]

If you are 100% certain the stock will go up, yes.

I worked with a guy who figured out that Apple was going to go up in 1981 and leveraged, borrowed, even took out a second on his condo. Made over a million bucks in 6 months. And in '81, a million was significant.

But all it would have taken was an earthquake in Silicon Valley, an economic upset of some kind, etc., etc. and he'd have lost it all.

Buy on margin only if you have the means to lose the gross amount you're leveraging.

[JavaBrewer]

No. I speak from experience.

[Zeke]

I think the OP is making a joke.