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So the other day I got an email with this subject line:

Margin Maintenance Call

Of course I immediately freaked out. I don’t have a margin account! Why was I getting that?

But it looks like a legitimate email, so I investigated a little, and calmed down after a call with one of the brokerage account representatives.

What actually happened was that I placed an order to buy shares in a mutual fund for one of my IRAs, but I miscalculated a little when placing my order. That meant that my account ended up a few cents short after the purchase was made.

I’m actually surprised that the purchase went through, but it did, so I transferred enough to cover the shortage.

And that’s what the “Margin Maintenance Call” was all about.

I’ve always known that I didn’t want a margin account, but boy did that email ever confirm it. I’d hate to have my stocks/funds automatically liquidated to cover a call. That could so easily spiral out of control and end up in a really bad situation.

Having an account like that might be right for some people, but definitely not me!

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