Don’t confuse margin and leverage. Though their relationship is interdependent, each functions distinctively. Leverage is the ability to control a large amount of money using none or very little of your own money and borrowing the rest. For example, to control a $100,000 position, your broker will set aside $1,000 from your account. Your leverage in ratios is now 100:1 and you have control over $100,000 with only $1,000. Meanwhile, margin is the initial amount of money that you have to deposit into your account in order to start transactions, including leverage uses, with your broker. Margin is usually expressed as a percentage of the full amount of the position. If your broker requires a 2% margin, you have a leverage of 50:1.