Tiger Trade Insufficient Margin Rejection Explained | Generated by AI
Question: Explain the Tiger Trade rejection message: “201:Order rejected - Reason: YOUR ORDER IS NOT ACCEPTED. IN ORDER TO OBTAIN THE DESIRED POSITION YOUR EQUITY WITH LOAN VALUE [636.45 USD] MUST EXCEED THE INITIAL MARGIN [736.92 USD]”
Answer:
This error message from Tiger Trade (Tiger Brokers’ platform) means your order was rejected because your account does not have enough equity to meet the initial margin requirement for the trade you are trying to open.
Key Terms Explained
- Equity with Loan Value (ELV): This is the effective equity in your margin account that can be used to support leveraged positions. It typically equals the total value of your assets (cash + securities value) minus certain adjustments (like options values in some cases), and it serves as the base for calculating how much you can borrow or leverage.
- Initial Margin (IM): This is the minimum amount of equity required to open a new position when using margin (leverage). It is usually a percentage of the total position value, depending on the asset (e.g., stock, futures, options). For many stocks it might be around 50%, but it can be higher for volatile assets, options, futures, or specific instruments.
The message specifically says your Equity with Loan Value ($636.45) is less than the required Initial Margin ($736.92) for the position you want to open after the trade executes.
Why This Happens
- You are trading on margin (borrowing from the broker to increase position size).
- The proposed trade requires more collateral (initial margin) than your current usable equity provides.
- Your account has insufficient “skin in the game” to safely open the larger leveraged position.
- This is a risk control measure — the broker (and regulators) prevent over-leveraging that could lead to quick losses or negative balances.
Common Causes
- Low account balance relative to the trade size.
- Trying to open a large position (too many shares/contracts).
- Trading a high-margin-requirement instrument (e.g., volatile stock, options, futures).
- Recent losses reduced your equity.
- Intraday profits might not always count fully toward opening new positions (similar to some brokers’ rules using previous day’s equity in certain cases).
- Currency or cross-market issues if trading in non-base currency.
How to Fix or Avoid It
- Deposit more funds to increase your Equity with Loan Value above the required initial margin.
- Reduce the order size (buy/sell fewer shares or contracts) so the required initial margin drops below your current ELV.
- Close existing positions to free up margin/equity.
- Switch to a cash account (if possible) or avoid margin trades if you don’t want leverage requirements.
- Check your account details in the Tiger Trade app: Look at “Account” → margin/equity sections to see current ELV, initial margin requirements, excess liquidity, and buying power.
- Review the specific asset’s margin requirement (Tiger provides lists for marginable securities).
In short: Your account’s usable equity ($636.45) is too low to support the new position’s initial margin need ($736.92). Add funds or trade smaller to resolve it.
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