Margin Lending Program
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Convenient Investment Financing to Help Meet Your Goals

If you are seeking a convenient source of financing to pursue investment opportunities, diversify your portfolio, exercise employee stock options, or meet other business financial goals, consider using the Margin Lending Program. The Margin Lending Program provides you with an extension of credit based on eligible securities that you pledge as collateral. By borrowing against your assets rather than selling them, you can keep your investment strategy on track and defer any capital gains taxes that might result from selling securities to meet your financing needs. (Note: Borrowing with securities as collateral involves certain risks, including the possibility that you may need to deposit additional securities and/or cash in the account to meet a maintenance call and that securities in the account may be sold to meet the maintenance call. Proper management of your account and a thorough understanding of the conditions that may affect your investments will assist you in effectively using the margin lending program.)

  • Borrow up to 50% of the market value of most listed stocks and many unit investment trusts, convertible bonds and approved open-end and close-end mutual funds
  • Manage operating expenses by using margin to meet seasonal fluctuations in cash flow
  • Save interest expense with no minimum loan amount
  • Obtain quick, convenient access to funds by using checks issued through your Working Capital Management Account® (WCMA® account)

Related Products & Services

For your business financial needs:

For your personal financial needs:

 

For more information call 1.866.4ML-BUSINESS (465-2874) or e-mail us at AskMLBiz@ml.com.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated is a registered broker-dealer, not a bank, and the WCMA account is not a bank account. Banking services are provided by licensed banks or by third parties through arrangements with licensed banks. Unless otherwise indicated, investment products are not FDIC-insured, not guaranteed by a bank and may lose value.

Working Capital Management Account and WCMA are registered service marks of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

For more information regarding the margin lending program, please contact your Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor or call (800) MERRILL (637-7455). If you have a CMA, WCMA, Merrill Lynch DirectSM Account, or Individual Investor account, you may already have access to this service. Note: Margin is not permitted with retirement, custodial or managed accounts.

There are certain risks associated with margin. Proper management of your account, and a thorough understanding of the conditions that may affect your investments will assist you in effectively using the margin lending program.

Please note the following risks with securities-based loans:

Borrowing through a securities-based loan and using stock as collateral involves a high degree of risk.  Investors should read the loan agreement carefully so they understand their obligations.
Market conditions can magnify any potential for loss.  If the market turns against investors, they may be required to deposit additional securities and/or cash in the account.
The securities in the account may be sold to meet the margin/maintenance call, and the firm can sell investors’ securities without contacting them.
Some or all of the securities pledged as collateral may be sold at prices higher than the initial cost to investors when they acquired the securities.
If that happens, investors may suffer adverse tax consequences.  Investors should consult a tax advisor in order to fully understand the tax implications associated with pledging securities as loan collateral.