Leverage and exposure worksheet
A plain-language sheet for writing down what a planned forex position could affect, what leverage and margin assumptions mean, and what still needs checking.
01 / How to use the sheet
Name the position, then question the exposure.
Leverage can let a smaller amount of capital control a larger market position. Margin is collateral under a broker’s rules; it is not the same as the amount the market can affect or a cap on possible loss. Use the blank fields to record the assumptions behind your own plan and mark anything that is not verified.
Approximate market amount affected = position units × market price
The relationship above is a simplified planning aid, not a universal formula. Contract size, quote currency, pip or point value, conversion, netting, and broker methodology can change the calculation.
02 / Your planned position
Record the context before the numbers
Type into the lines or print this page and write by hand. The prompts organize questions; they do not decide whether a trade is suitable for you.
Record when you wrote or last checked this page.
Use the market name and contract wording shown by the broker.
Describe the setup, timeframe, or event you are considering in neutral words.
Record your own label and entry condition; this sheet does not recommend either.
Name the currency in which you want to view the estimates.
03 / Leverage, margin, and market amount
Keep margin separate from exposure
Write the broker’s current terms and the market amount affected side by side. A smaller margin requirement can make a position look smaller than its market exposure. Verify the broker’s definitions, contract size, and current calculation.
State whether this is balance, equity, or another defined reference.
Write the current broker term and mark it for verification; do not treat it as a target.
Record the broker’s current requirement and how it is calculated.
Write the estimate and the assumptions behind it; margin is not a loss limit.
Verify what one unit, lot, or contract represents for this instrument.
Record the quantity being considered without treating this worksheet as approval.
Write the amount that a price move would affect and the calculation used.
Record the value in account currency for this pair and size, then verify it.
04 / Related exposure
Ask what else could move with it
Positions can look separate while sharing a currency, theme, event, or liquidity risk. Record the relationship you are considering and how you would describe the combined exposure. Do not assume that a broker will net or offset positions in the way you expect.
List positions, orders, or holdings that could move with the same currencies or theme.
Describe what may be affected together and how you are measuring the total.
What would a move against the position mean for the market amount and account value?
05 / Costs, execution, and unknowns
Leave room for what the plan cannot know yet
A planned price or stop may not be the actual fill. Keep spread, commission, financing, conversion, slippage, gaps, liquidity, and fast-market conditions visible. When a detail is unavailable, write “unknown” and identify where you will check the current broker information.
Record current broker terms or leave a note to verify them.
Include holding-time assumptions and any currency conversion.
Note possible slippage, gaps, widening spreads, liquidity, or fast-market conditions.
List missing contract details, margin rules, stop-out terms, costs, or order conditions.
06 / Hypothetical example
Fictional arithmetic, not a trading instruction
Hypothetical educational example — not personalized advice
Every value below is invented for explanation only. It is not a suggested leverage level, margin rule, position size, account decision, risk limit, or expected outcome. It also leaves out real-world details that must be checked.
- Fictional capital reference
- $2,000
- Fictional leverage assumption
- 5:1
- Simplified market amount affected
- $2,000 × 5 = $10,000
- Simplified 1% move against it
- About $100
This simplified arithmetic does not model a particular currency pair, contract, broker, margin method, conversion, spread, commission, financing, slippage, gap, liquidity condition, or related position. It cannot tell a reader what to trade or how much to trade. Verify current terms before relying on any estimate.