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Same thing. If you sell $100,000 of US treasuries you have now eaten up $100,000 of 30x margin. When we did this for the year up to actaully launching we learned: A. On normal portfolio margin, you can achieve a max leverage rate, in real dollars, of about 20x (sometimes as high as 22x) and a low of about 15x; or B. Use a box or other method and we could never get above 5x-7x. It makes a big difference. This is also why we have to be "careful" in our trade selection. Let's say trade A: $150,000 trade that gives you a max gain (after interest) of $1,000 and charges you $500 margin interest (so 200% return on margin); $150,000 trade that gives you a max gain (after interest) of $2,000 and charges you $2,000 margin interest (so only 100% return on margin). Which trade is better? Well it looks like the first one BUT realize you still have that 30x thing hanging in the background. So while your on risk margin (portfolio margin) is 2x higher on the first, it is actually 2x higher as to the 30x on the second one. Only there's another layer -- how did we get to that $150,000? If trade one is: $200,000 of stock -$49,000 of calls $1,0000 of puts Then that counts $250,000 against the 30x margin. Whereas if we have a trade: $400,000 of stock -$200,000 of calls $1,000 of puts that counts $601,000 against the 30x margin. So even though the second trade above has a 50% margin of safety and the first one only has a 25% margin of safety, the second one counts almost 3x as much against your 30x limit. Because IB takes the absolute value of each position it is impossible to hit the 30x limit on risk managed side margin. The highest I think I've ever gotten is about 25x. I consider 20x "fully" invested most of the time. The 30x is also a dynamic number -- which means if the stock price goes down, volatility goes up, call goes down in value, and put goes up in value -- you can put yourself into a margin call situation as to the 30x -- even if the portfolio risk isn't changed. Which is a reason to not be 100% levered and have SOME room available for market moves.

No because you can't transfer all of the cash out as that destroys your collateral requirements (we tried that too ). Then you blow through your risk margin.