CFA Level 1 Exam: Interpretation of Increasing Debit Balances in Brokerage Accounts

Interpretation of Increasing Debit Balances in Brokerage Accounts

Prev Question Next Question

Question

If the debit balances in brokerage accounts increase, the smart money technicians interpret it as:

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

Explanation

Debit balances in brokerage accounts represent margin debt i.e. borrowings by investors from the brokerages for investment in the market. Smart money technicians consider margin investors as a group of astute investors and hence interpret large leveraged investments as a bullish signal. Therefore, an large increase in the debit balances is considered a bullish sign while a decline is considered a bearish sign.