How Slay Markets futures margin works — initial margin, maintenance margin, day trading margin, and overnight margin explained.
Margin on a Slay Markets futures account is the minimum amount of money your account must hold to open and maintain a position. Futures margin is not a down payment or a loan — it is a good-faith performance bond that covers potential daily losses on your position, and no interest is charged. Initial margin is required to open a position; the lower maintenance margin is the minimum to keep it open. If your account's net liquidation value (the real-time value of your account) falls below the maintenance margin level, your positions can be automatically liquidated.
⚠️ Important — exchange margin requirements can change without notice: Intraday and overnight margin requirements are set by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC and the relevant exchanges, and can change at any time, sometimes without advance notice during volatile markets. If your account's net liquidation value (NLV) — your cash balance plus or minus unrealized gains/losses on open positions — falls below the maintenance margin level for your open positions, even briefly, your positions may be automatically liquidated. You are responsible for monitoring your own Slay Markets account equity at all times.
How is Slay Markets futures margin different from stock margin?
Slay Markets futures margin is a required deposit, not a loan — and this is the key difference from stock margin. In the stock market, buying on margin means borrowing money from your broker to buy more shares than you could afford outright, and you pay interest on the borrowed amount.
In futures trading at Slay Markets, "margin" refers to a required deposit. No interest is charged on futures margin and you are not borrowing anything. You are posting a good-faith deposit with the exchange (through your broker) to guarantee you can cover potential losses on your position.
Slay Markets futures margin deposits are held in a segregated account; your margin funds are not lent out or used by Slay Markets for other purposes. See How Your Funds Are Protected for details on fund segregation.
What is initial margin on a Slay Markets futures account?
Initial margin is the minimum balance required in your Slay Markets account to open a new futures position. Initial margin is set by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC and the exchange and varies by product based on historical volatility and contract value.
Initial margin requirements vary by product and are updated by the exchanges periodically — they can change, sometimes with little notice during volatile market conditions. For the current figure for every Slay Markets product, see Margin Requirements by Product.
What is maintenance margin on a Slay Markets futures account?
Maintenance margin is the minimum balance required to keep an existing Slay Markets futures position open, and it is always lower than initial margin. Maintenance margin is the critical threshold to watch while you have open positions.
If your account's net liquidation value (NLV) falls below the maintenance margin level for your open positions, a margin call is triggered and your account enters liquidate-only mode. You must either deposit additional funds or reduce your position size. If your NLV drops below the maintenance level — even briefly — auto-liquidation can begin: NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC automatically closes open positions to prevent a negative balance. See What Is a Margin Call and What Should I Do? for the full margin call process.
Day trading margin vs. overnight margin at Slay Markets
Slay Markets offers reduced intraday (day trading) margin rates during active trading sessions for clients who close their positions before the end of the session; overnight margin is the higher, full exchange-set initial margin required to hold a position past the daily close. Day trading margin rates can be significantly lower than overnight margin rates.
Slay Markets day trading (intraday) margin — the lower margin rate available while the market is open and active. Day trading margin rates can be significantly lower than overnight margin. Slay Markets intraday margin rates match the current NinjaTrader published schedule and are set by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC and the exchanges — published at ninjatrader.com/pricing/margins-position-management. Day-trading margin rates apply during all hours a product is open, up until 15 minutes before that session's close. For CME equity index products the session closes at 5:00 PM ET, so intraday margin ends at 4:45 PM ET. If you plan to hold a position overnight, your account must meet the higher initial (exchange-set) margin at that 15-minute cutoff.
Slay Markets overnight (initial) margin — the full exchange-set initial margin required to hold a position past the daily session close. If you hold a position through the settlement period, you must maintain the full overnight margin amount.
If your Slay Markets account does not have sufficient margin to meet the overnight requirement and you hold a position into the close, your account may be automatically liquidated before or at settlement. Always confirm your overnight margin requirements before carrying positions into the close.
The table below summarizes the three Slay Markets futures margin types, when each rate applies, and how they compare.
Slay Markets margin type | Margin rate | When it applies |
Day trading (intraday) margin | Slay Markets intraday margin rates match the current NinjaTrader published schedule and are set by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC and the exchanges — published at ninjatrader.com/pricing/margins-position-management. Day-trading margin rates apply during all hours a product is open, up until 15 minutes before that session's close. For CME equity index products the session closes at 5:00 PM ET, so intraday margin ends at 4:45 PM ET. If you plan to hold a position overnight, your account must meet the higher initial (exchange-set) margin at that 15-minute cutoff. | During active trading session while market is open (position closed before session end) |
Overnight (initial) margin | Full exchange-set rate | Required to hold a position past the daily session close |
Maintenance margin | Exchange-set level, lower than initial | Minimum to keep an existing position open at any time |
Can Slay Markets margin requirements rise around economic news?
Yes. NinjaTrader Clearing may raise intraday margin requirements to up to 4X the standard rate at least 15 minutes before key economic news announcements — Federal Reserve decisions, CPI, Non-Farm Payrolls, and similar releases.
The elevated rate applies to new position entries only. Existing positions are not re-margined.
No prior notification is given before the rate rises.
The announcement schedule is available in your Account Dashboard.
Rates return to standard intraday levels after the announcement window passes.
Plan entries around scheduled announcements. An order that would fill comfortably at the standard intraday rate can be rejected for insufficient margin during an elevated window.
How is margin calculated on a Slay Markets account?
Your Slay Markets margin requirement is the sum of the margin needed for each of your open positions. Each open contract requires its own margin deposit, and positions across different products are additive. For example, the Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ) intraday margin is $100, so holding 3 MNQ contracts requires $300 (3 times the per-contract margin).
Each open contract requires its own margin deposit.
If you hold 3 MNQ contracts, your required margin is 3 times the margin requirement for one MNQ (3 × $100 = $300).
Multiple positions across different products each have their own requirements — these are additive.
Your available margin is your account NLV minus the total margin required by your open positions.
Slay Markets margin and account equity: NLV, required margin, available margin, and margin deficit
These are the four Slay Markets margin and account-equity terms you need to know. Net Liquidation Value (NLV) is your cash balance plus or minus the current unrealized gain or loss on all open positions — the real-time value of your account. Required Margin is the total margin required to hold all of your current open positions. Available Margin (also called Excess Margin) is NLV minus Required Margin — the amount of equity available to open new positions. Margin Deficit is the amount by which your NLV is below the maintenance threshold, which triggers a margin call.
Slay Markets margin term | Definition |
Net Liquidation Value (NLV) | Your cash balance plus or minus the current unrealized gain or loss on all open positions. This is the real-time value of your account. |
Required Margin | The total margin required to hold all of your current open positions. |
Available Margin / Excess Margin | NLV minus Required Margin. The amount of equity available to open new positions. |
Margin Deficit | The amount by which your NLV is below the maintenance threshold. Triggers a margin call. |
Why do Slay Markets margin requirements change?
Slay Markets margin requirements are not fixed because exchange margin requirements are reviewed and adjusted based on market volatility, liquidity, and risk. When an exchange or NinjaTrader Clearing raises margin requirements:
New positions require the higher margin amount immediately.
Existing positions may require additional margin — this can happen without advance notice during fast-moving markets.
Slay Markets does not send advance notification of a margin-rate change, and no warning is given before intraday rates rise ahead of economic announcements. An email notification is sent after a margin violation occurs — never before it. Clients are responsible for monitoring their own account equity and current margin requirements at all times — current intraday rates are published at ninjatrader.com/pricing/margins-position-management. If you have questions about a margin change, contact support@slaymarkets.com.
Slay Markets margin rules: frequently asked questions
Q: Is there a minimum account balance required to trade futures on Slay Markets?
A: At a minimum, your Slay Markets account must hold the intraday margin for the product you want to trade, plus a reasonable buffer for adverse price moves. For example, the Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ) intraday margin is $100 and the Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) intraday margin is $50. There is no universal minimum beyond the margin requirement of the specific contract. See Margin Requirements by Product for current figures by product.
Q: Can I hold a futures position overnight on Slay Markets?
A: Yes, you can hold a Slay Markets futures position overnight if your account holds the full overnight (initial) margin amount for your position. If your account equity does not meet the overnight threshold, you must close the position before the session ends or deposit additional funds to cover the higher overnight requirement.
Q: What is the difference between initial margin and maintenance margin on Slay Markets?
A: Initial margin is the minimum balance required to open a new Slay Markets futures position; maintenance margin is the lower minimum balance required to keep that position open. If your net liquidation value (NLV) falls below the maintenance margin level, a margin call is triggered and auto-liquidation can begin.
Q: Is interest charged on Slay Markets futures margin?
A: No. Slay Markets futures margin is a good-faith performance bond — a required deposit, not a loan — so no interest is charged. You are not borrowing money; you are posting a deposit to guarantee you can cover potential losses on your position.
Q: Does Slay Markets offer portfolio margining for combined futures and options positions?
A: Slay Markets does not offer portfolio margining.
Slay Markets margin rules: key takeaways
Slay Markets futures margin is a performance bond — not a loan — and no interest is charged. Initial margin is required to open a position; maintenance margin is the lower minimum to keep it open. Day trading (intraday) margin rates are lower than overnight (initial) margin rates. If your net liquidation value (NLV) falls below the maintenance level, a margin call triggers and NinjaTrader Clearing can auto-liquidate your positions. Always monitor your available margin while positions are open.
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