Units/Lots | Trading Terms

Trading units (aka lots, aka position size) is one of those trading terms that seem simple but can be quite confusing for someone who’s just come into the trading world.
The reason behind this is that different types of trading require different terminology to describe them. Forex and stocks have different predefined sizes for trading and switching between the two can cause some ambiguity. Trading expert David Jones is on deck to break down the explanation of what lots and units are to their smallest parts and make it simple for everyone who’s struggled with them.
At Trading 212 we provide an execution only service. This video should not be construed as investment advice. Investments can fall and rise. Capital at risk. CFDs are higher risk because of leverage.

[@laurenceclack]

Would be so much easier to enter how much you want to stake in £'s

[@crimsonpirate1710]

Great video, helpful examples and a live trade thrown in for good value. Excellent, many thanks.

[@rowlandturner6011]

Thanks David, very interesting to learn this before venturing in to trading

[@tradingage2700]

You are a great teacher Dear David. Thanks.

[@danielmoody665]

Thanks David, really helped me out. This has been the only video to really explain units/lots!

[@worldcontent9985]

Are u profitable trader now?

[@omranjabarti7416]

you are one if the most lovely teacher I have seen

[@Crownedheadqueso]

thank you for going over the units and how they work complete newbie here peace and blessings

[@josephmann8225]

Now i get it thanks for the video. 10,000 equals 1 dollar while 100,000 equals 10 dollars

[@azeddinezellag3127]

nice video bro u explain for me what i need ty ^^

[@cuttingedgecool7235]

Thanks for the tutorial!

[@IDLWITB]

Hi guys thank you for the videos. Whilst this video gives us the monetary value of risk, can you pls explain the risk calculations when considering volatility (using the ATR) and where to place stop as well based on the 1%. The percentage that one risks is optional of course.

[@yogeshshinde3452]

Thanks for this video! Appreciate your hard work! I am new to trading 212 with practice account, and I just wanted to know: 1. where can i see my closed trades 2. Instead of quantity can we not buy on the basis of price and quantity to be auto selected as per the price quoted. 3. Can we switch percentage instead of points?

[@madabouthistory4611]

really am loving the videos, I joined yesterday started trading using practice account, from 50k to now on 122,628 and that's in 24 hours, ivew learnt a lot in the space of one day so I cant wait til I do few more days on practice then to a real account, really love the platform, and gotta say you really do explain stuff well and simple, ive found ema 8 hour and 20 hour very useful, also rsi, ive been finding trends also :} really hoping I can master this . ive got 1k in sterling in bitcoin and that's just not moving so decided to withdraw that in couple days and see how I do

[@happyguy2k]

How ru doing now?

[@leecowell8165]

EMA is specified in BARS, not hours. if you're on the 15 min the default may only be a coupla HOURS of look back.

[@difrasnz1601]

Thank you .. I learned from trading 212..

[@andreasnicolaou6916]

Brilliant video

[@AV-ij5ti]

Great video! I'm going to practice with a demo account until I grasp the concept since I failed miserably with penny stocks :(

[@johnrussell7625]

Fantastic very clear

[@smsaifullah]

Hi David can you please explain how you plan to exit the trade like as you opened live account GU. As usual great work i like the way you see the market and explain nicely!! Thank you so much you helping lot of retail traders who are extremely helpless in the market and their own physiology appreciate your input mate...

[@davidjones2452]

Hi, if I have for example a 50 point stop on the trade, I wait till it moves to be at least +50 in my favour. Then i move the stop to break even -i.e. where I got in. After that I trail the stop up - you can do this automatically. That's what I did with this trade. Hope this helps.

[@onepercent162]

This helped me alot, thanks! :)

[@Trading212]

Glad to hear!

[@DanielPaprocki]

For me using this units instead of amounts in £ that I actually want to invest is confusing 🤷🏻‍♂️ I'm never sure how big is my trade.

[@salv236]

Great useful video, thank you for sharing, is there a way to determine where you place your stop loss? Would this be below support level?

[@Trading212]

You may take a look at this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/pIvIkql_qsaLqKM.

[@cartelrusso5992]

thank you

[@brouse13]

thanks for the video, i am just wonderin if you could set examples around stock market or crypto market.

[@baboufx9888]

I personally prefer percentage instead of pips it’s too confusing 😤

[@noelpayano4364]

danke für das video jetzt habe ich mehr kopfschmerzen mit tim

[@andycoggins1966]

hi just started thinking about stocks and shares what the minimum can start with

[@andrewjackson9058]

I’ve opened an account with just a tenner to learn, how much of my tenner will a 0.1 trade take up please?😂

[@adriandanehernandez4138]

how do you adjust lot sizes?

[@MrRickey1998]

How do you buy with zero spread in this software?

[@maze2maze2]

Hello; Thank you for the effort and the video, you are great, also your trading station and application. I have question, I use your demo account and a real account. Can you explain or make a video about using in the Trading 212, PENDING- limit/stop, OCO, IF/THEN orders? Thank you, that would be of great help; Best regards

[@Trading212]

Hi Matej, you can take a look at the following videos on Limit/Stop and OCO orders: Placing Entry Limit and Stop Orders - kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5iTm3ydfrhmodU How to use One Cancels the Other (OCO) orders - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnmTiYeCrN6anc0

[@lancepheng]

Seems like we have to play with it and guess lol. I wish there was s chart as there are so many instruments. So for gold, what is the actual position price needed from the trader and how much is borrowed from the broker? and when does the margin call come in if the price moves in a unfavourable direction?

[@Trading212]

Hi Lance, in relation to Forex and CFDs trading you may use the Margin and swap details feature in the trading app. It calculates the money amount required for placing a position, prior to opening it. Simply open a Detailed trade box (web app) / market order screen (mobile app) with your desired instrument and select quantity. The margin and swap details will appear in the relevant section. The margin call is sent when the margin indicator in the trading app reaches 45%. However, in case of big market volatility, sending a margin call notification would be on a "best effort" basis.

[@parthparikh1392]

Hi David just a question , to trade with 10,000 units , do u need 10,00 dollars in your bank account ?

[@S0DAo]

So can I trade options or no?

[@kingtigercrownestate9102]

So is one pip always equal to 10% of your total lot size in Forex?

[@sultanmohandes1561]

So would you have to have $10.000 to hold a $10.000 position or can anyone change the units to a much higher position?

[@linux2005]

Sorry, might seem like a stupid question.. in reference to this ''because we are trading $10k each point is worth $1'' why is every point worth $1?

[@ducatirottie]

Not a stupid question. As a general rule of thumb there are 3 Lot sizes. Micro Lot = 1000 units of currency, crypto or gold, etc = 0.01 = .10cents per PIP movement Mini Lot = 10,000 units =0.1 = $1.00 per Pip Movement Standard Lot = 100,000 units = 1= $10.00 per Pip Movement

[@_darkbrian]

For a record it was a bloodbath week bcause of Powell and Trump. Hope in the future i'll be laughing by reading this. Thanks Mr Jones!

[@jackcapon6067]

so its more risky to make a trade wirth higher quantitys ?

[@DanielPaprocki]

So how many ounces did you buy for that 10 units? 🤔🤷🏻‍♂️

[@fashjnr6834]

If I have a $200 dollar account, how many lot size can I trade???

[@zaynumar0]

Hello David - how do I convert lot size in MT4 to appropriate unit sizes in trading 212? E.g How much unit sizes in trading 212 be For 0.00432 lot size trade in MT4 ?

[@leecowell8165]

1 lot = 100k units ($10 per pip, 1 mini = 10k unit ($1 per pip), 1 micro = 1k unit (10 cents per pip). btw MT4 has back doors... not recommended.

[@whosurbunny]

Still dont have a clear understanding on this unit trading stuff... sigh.. 😓

[@trapaveli9357]

I don’t understand how quantity works, if the market for gold is say $1,500, how can I buy 1 quantity of it for £4-£5

[@artan1112]

I invested in Crude Oil (demo) 1k and after 24h my profit increased to 93% or 1993.42€ It’s still confusing!!!! How is it possible to buy (let assume) at 24€/share( 1k/24=41,7 shares) and then the increase to 25 (1k/25=40shares) 25-24=1€x 40=40€ my profit or 0,04% .

[@colinp7983]

What software/trading platform is this?

[@Trading212]

Hi Colin, this is Trading 212. Practice for free with virtual funds at www.trading212.com/en/Practice-for-Free-GBP.

[@elel1003]

👍

[@rouxzherr1304]

good day! just want to ask coz im just starting ...how to trade a stocks that is below its LOT SIZE? coz i did purchase a stock which are still before 10 lots ,now it increase its lots to 100 lots...how to trade this, coz im stuck and cant sell this stocks..thanks in advance!

[@Trading212]

Hello Rosser, you may want to start a live chat and provide more details in relation to your inquiry. You will receive professional help in real time - www.trading212.com/en/Contact?startchat.

[@phantomholdingsinc3804]

Can I make consistent profits trading forex?

[@mmikaeyatanka1294]

Trading 212 not supported in my country in Botswana

[@luke0brien254]

I don’t get it if i want to buy £100 worth how do I know how many units to buy? layman’s terms

[@Trading212]

Hi Luke, you may want to use the margin and swap (FX & CFDs) / commissions (Equities) details feature in the trading app. Just get in touch via the live chat if you need further assistance - www.trading212.com/en/Contact?startchat.

[@dreamspacepresident3356]

TL;DR: In the web app, the dialog with which you open a position shows the amount of margin-cash that'll be nailed down during the trade. It's at the bottom of the window. Here's an overview of T212's instruments: www.trading212.com/en/Trading-Instruments It says e.g. EUR/USD margin 0.5% which means that 0.5% of the amount of cash you'll be handling (e.g. €5000) will be frozen during the trade. That's €25. (0.5% is a leverage of 1:200 (100/200=0.5))

[@smallcrs2006]

I'm starting to learn how to trade and I want to trade on GBP/JPY, but I wanted to understand the units, so I tried your example on gold to see if I can get the basic understanding. I put my lot size at 10 and bought at 1419.41. It then went down to 1419.00 so I'm 41 cents lower. However it says that I lost £3.62, so I'm not sure how 10 units equals to 10 cents,are you able to help?

[@mil.o]

1 year late but with yen the price per pip is different. All the other currencies roughly are 10 dollars per pip for one lot, etc but not yen

[@destinygordon9659]

Do you still read all comments ?

[@masticlub2012]

1 lot mean 1 dollr ???

[@ididnotopenthischannel]

Please provide 2FA authentication

[@AirElegant]

The minimum for each trade is 10% of the stock price? Like if you think it's right.

[@davidjones2452]

Hi, I think you are asking about initial margin requirements. There's a video here that explains it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYW9qYSMacqeq5Y

[@brianclark4796]

this is trading forex, not stocks? can someone please confirm?

[@Trading212]

Hello Brian, the measurement units apply to all types of trading instruments.

[@stjepankristic4261]

What happened if goes rapidly down? If I have on my account 5000€ and I buy a 8.4 quantity US 100 for 5000€ and then Us100 rapidly goes down let say for a 1000. It is loss from 8400. Will Trading charge me for a 3500€? Or it's not possible to go in Minus on account? Thank you. Sorry my English is not good.

[@Trading212]

In case of big price movements or market gaps, your positions might get closed at a loss exceeding your available funds, but you can never lose more than what you've deposited due to our Negative Balance Protection policy. You can find more information on the topic in our Help Centre below: helpcentre.trading212.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007380097-Can-I-lose-more-money-than-my-deposit-

[@stjepankristic4261]

@@Trading212 I have a few more question, first one if on my account ist 5000€ and I have a win 300€ can I every day win transfer to my bank account? How many times can I transfer money to my bank account? Are there some cost?. And what if I have 5000€ on my account and I make a win from 300€ I put them on my bank account that mean I have 5000€ on my account and then I buy a Us 100, 8.4 quantity for a 5000€ and the stock go rapidly down. How far will go, to lost 5000 or 5300? If I put 300€ win I think go dow to 5000 am I right? Thank you for your time to a answering.

[@drip6337]

does 100,000 units = 1 Lot?

[@mil.o]

Yep

[@kryspykrsp__7896]

The name of your platform?.....sorry im new😅

[@JoeHendersonOfficial]

so 1 unit is 1 dollar?

[@issiewizzie]

pips calculator

[@yousefghannam5142]

I thought that 5000 is 50$

[@thecasualfront7432]

Pfff what?