2 Answers

After the feds drained the stock market to pay for that needless war in Iraq in 2008, a LOT of people were asking that question ........Where did my money go ?!!

It sounds to me that some of your stocks were paid for by buying stocks on margin. If this is true, that should only be done on a short term bases. But that is up to you.

Margin means buying securities, such as stocks, by using funds you borrow from your broker. Buying stock on margin is similar to buying a house with a mortgage. If you buy a house at a purchase price of $100,000 and put 10 percent down, your equity (the part you own) is $10,000, and you borrow the remaining $90,000 with a mortgage. If the value of the house rises to $120,000 and you sell, you will make a profit of 100 percent (closing costs excluded). How is that? The $20,000 gain on the property represents a gain of 20 percent on the purchase price of $100,000, but because your real investment is $10,000 (the down payment), your gain works out to 200 percent (a gain of $20,000 on your initial investment of $10,000).