Right now, Public does not offer Margin accounts. This means that every Public Brokerage Account is a Cash Account.

What is Margin?

Margin trading means purchasing a Stock or Fund with some of your own money plus some borrowed funds from a broker. The borrowed money is known as “leverage.” In this model, an individual is trading with money they do not have at this moment, in the hopes that the investment will pan out and they will have enough funds to cover whatever was borrowed plus interest. Margins trading requires having a margins account, which is similar to a line of credit.

Why Doesn't Public Offer Margin?

Trading on margin is a potentially risky approach that has historically been available only to qualified, institutional investors. At Public, we’re on a mission to make investing inclusive, educational, and fun. We believe that democratizing the stock market comes with a responsibility to our members—especially novice investors—to provide guardrails around high-risk behaviors.

As such, we do not offer margin accounts and it is not currently possible to trade on margin in our platform.

That said, we're always adding new features, so if you'd like to be notified if we ever offer margin accounts, give us a shout in the app's Chat or via email at support@public.com.