One quick (and less than intensive) way to calculate the answer to this on the examination (and it is very important to save time on the examination) is to first calculate the return if all cash, then calculate the margin leverage factor and then finally, multiply the leverage factor times the all cash return to obtain the margin return.
Calculations:
Step 1: Calculate All Cash Return:
Cash Return % = [(Ending Value / Beginning Equity Position) – 1] × 100
= [(($200 × 200) / ($100 × 200)) – 1] × 100 = 100%
Step 2: Calculate Leverage Factor:
Leverage Factor = 1 / Initial Margin % = 1 / 0.40 = 2.50
Step 3: Calculate Margin Return:
Margin Transaction Return = All cash return × Leverage Factor = 100% × 2.50 = 250%
Note: You can verify the margin return as follows:
Margin Return % = [((Ending Value ? Loan Payoff) / Beginning Equity Position) – 1] × 100
= [(([$200 × 200] – [$100 × 200 × 0.60]) / ($100 × 0.40 × 200)) – 1] × 100
= [ ((40,000 ? 12,000) / 8,000) ? 1] × 100 = 250%