6.It is April 15, and a trader is entered into a short position in two soybean meal futures contracts. The contracts expire on August 15, and call for the delivery of 100 tons of soybean meal each. Further, because this is a futures position, it requires the posting of a $3,000 initial margin and a $1,500 maintenance margin per contract. For simplicity, however, assume that the account is marked to market on a monthly basis. Assume the following represent the contract delivery prices (in dollars per ton) that prevail on each settlement date:

What is the equity value of the margin account on the May 15 settlement date, including any additional equity that is required to meet a margin call?

A)   $2,300.

B)   $1,350.

C)   $$7,350.

D)   $4,650.

7.Based on the May 15 settlement date, which of the following is TRUE?

A)   No margin call or disbursement occurs.

B)   Since the equity value of the margin account is above the initial margin, the trader can withdraw $1,350.

C)   Since the equity value of the margin account is below the maintenance margin, a variation margin is called to restore the equity value of the account to it's initial level.

D)   Since the equity value fell below the initial margin level, a variation margin of $650 is called.

8.If the balance in a trader’s account falls below the maintenance margin level, the trader will have to deposit additional funds into the account. The additional funds required is called the:

A)   initial margin.

B)   marking to market.

C)   variation margin.

D)   margin call.

9.If the margin balance in a futures account with a long position goes below the maintenance margin amount:

A)   a deposit is required which will bring the account to the maintenance margin level.

B)   a margin deposit equal to the maintenance margin is required within two business days.

C)   a deposit is required to return the account margin to the initial margin level.

D)   a margin deposit is required only if the price does not rise sufficiently the next (trading) day.

10.The settlement price for a futures contract is:

A)   an average of the trade prices during the ‘closing period’.

B)   the price of the last trade of a futures contract at the end of the trading day.

C)   the price at which all trades over a certain period are executed.

D)   the price of the asset in the future for all trades made in the same day.

答案和详解如下：

6.It is April 15, and a trader is entered into a short position in two soybean meal futures contracts. The contracts expire on August 15, and call for the delivery of 100 tons of soybean meal each. Further, because this is a futures position, it requires the posting of a $3,000 initial margin and a $1,500 maintenance margin per contract. For simplicity, however, assume that the account is marked to market on a monthly basis. Assume the following represent the contract delivery prices (in dollars per ton) that prevail on each settlement date:

April 15 (initiation)	173.00
May 15	179.75
June 15	189.00
July 15	182.50
August 15 (delivery)	174.25

What is the equity value of the margin account on the May 15 settlement date, including any additional equity that is required to meet a margin call?

A)   $2,300.

B)   $1,350.

C)   $$7,350.

D)   $4,650.

The correct answer was D)

Use the following steps to calculate the margin account balance as of May 15.

At initiation: (Beginning Balance, April 15)

Initial margin * number of contracts = 3,000 * 2 = 6,000

Maintenance margin * number of contracts = 1,500 * 2 = 3,000

As of May 15: (Ending contract price per ton - beginning contract price per ton ) * tons per contract * # contracts = (179.75 - 173.00) * 100 * 2 = 1,350

Since the trader is short, this amount is subtracted from the beginning margin balance, or 6,000 - 1,350 = 4,650.

7.Based on the May 15 settlement date, which of the following is TRUE?

A)   No margin call or disbursement occurs.

B)   Since the equity value of the margin account is above the initial margin, the trader can withdraw $1,350.

C)   Since the equity value of the margin account is below the maintenance margin, a variation margin is called to restore the equity value of the account to it's initial level.

D)   Since the equity value fell below the initial margin level, a variation margin of $650 is called.

The correct answer was A)

As of May 15, the margin balance is $4,650 (see solution to previous question). Since this is below the initial margin of $6,000 (both contracts), but still above the maintenance margin of $3,000, (for both contracts) no action is required.

There are three types of margin.  The first deposit is called the initial margin.  Initial margin must be posted before any trading takes place.  Initial margin is fairly low and equals about one day’s maximum price fluctuation.  The margin requirement is low because at the end of every day there is a daily settlement process called marking-the-account-to-market.  In marking-to-market, any losses for the day are removed from the trader’s account and any gains are added to the trader’s account.  If the margin balance in the trader’s account falls below a certain level (called the maintenance margin), the trader will get a margin call and have to deposit more money (called the variation margin) into the account to bring the account back up to the initial margin level.

8.If the balance in a trader’s account falls below the maintenance margin level, the trader will have to deposit additional funds into the account. The additional funds required is called the:

A)   initial margin.

B)   marking to market.

C)   variation margin.

D)   margin call.

The correct answer was C)

If the margin balance falls below a specified level (the maintenance margin), additional capital (the variation margin) must be deposited in the account. Initial margin is the capital that must be in the trader’s account before the initiation of the margin trade. Marking to market is when any loss for the day is deducted from the trader’s account, and any gains are added to the account.

9.If the margin balance in a futures account with a long position goes below the maintenance margin amount:

A)   a deposit is required which will bring the account to the maintenance margin level.

B)   a margin deposit equal to the maintenance margin is required within two business days.

C)   a deposit is required to return the account margin to the initial margin level.

D)   a margin deposit is required only if the price does not rise sufficiently the next (trading) day.

The correct answer was C)

Once account margin (based on the daily settlement price) falls below the maintenance margin level, it must be returned to the initial margin level, regardless of subsequent price changes.

10.The settlement price for a futures contract is:

A)   an average of the trade prices during the ‘closing period’.

B)   the price of the last trade of a futures contract at the end of the trading day.

C)   the price at which all trades over a certain period are executed.

D)   the price of the asset in the future for all trades made in the same day.

The correct answer was A)

The margin adjustments are made based on the settlement price, which is calculated as the average trade price over a specific closing period at the end of the trading day. The length of the closing period is set by the exchange.