Day Trading Rules

Day Trade: Buying and Selling (or Shorting and Covering) the same security on the same day.

How often can I day trade?

There are various laws and regulations with regards to day trading depending on the country you live in. It is important that if you do decide to start day trading in your personal brokerage account that you are aware of the day trading rules of your respective country. Most countries have rules on margin accounts and not necessarily on trading accounts without margin but it is always important to verify.

US:

The SEC governs the rules and you should thoroughly read the SEC’s day trading rules and regulations, as well as FINRA’s guidelines. Essentially, if you are in the US and make four or more trades in a 5 day period you may be flagged as a “Pattern day trader” and could lose your margin account status unless you fulfill certain rules. This only applies to small accounts; if you hold more than $25,000 in assets in your margin brokerage account, you are probably exempt from this criteria.

Stock Market Games:

Other the hand, the rules for paper trading software such as HowTheMarketWorks are far simpler. If day trading is allowed you are able to trade as often as you’d like.

Comments are closed.