Question about maximum leverage 1:400

Beginner Questions
1

Hello,

I have a question about leverage. When brokers states for example this:
[B]Maximum leverage 1:400[/B]

I understand that the maximum is 1:400 but what choises do we have under 1:400?
Are there set leverages like: 1:50, 1:100, 1:200, 1:300

  • Or can I choose whatever leverage, like: 1:63, 1:178, 1:218 etc up to 1:400 ?
2

This would be a great question to ask the broker itself.

3

That depends on the broker, but I would assume 400:1 is the max of what they offer.

4

Most of the brokers i’ve come across have set leverages like 1:1, 1:50, 1:100 etc. I don’t think i’ve ever come across a broke that lets you set your own leverages.

5

There are different level you can chose from, but keep in mind that leverage offered and the actual leverage you end up using can be vastly different. There are some threads here by Clint who explained it rather well which should help you understand the difference.

6

I think I found Clints thread about this:
http://forums.babypips.com/newbie-island/73664-position-sizing-leverage.html#post698897

Taken from the thread:
[I]>> If you had an account which allowed you to trade in UNITS, rather than mini-lots, and if you used the position size calculated above (15,436 units), then the actual leverage used in this trade would be 15.4:1 (rounded off)[/I]

I am not sure exactly what was ment. Does he mean that usually we can’t trade 15,436 Units but for example we will need to trade 15,000 Units (15 microlots).

If I understand. The leverage itself is ALWAYS the same but as we can only trade 15 microlots, we will put leverage on 15,000 units and not 15,436 units. This is what makes a “different actual leverage” because we wanted to put leverage on 15,436 units?