Cost of leverage
The price of money or securities borrowed from a broker: the overnight carry rate, the borrow fee and collateral that cannot be used for anything else at the same time.
How to read the number
The charge accrues for every day the position is held and does not care whether it is moving the right way: the idea pays for the carry first, and only what is left is a result.
When the metric lies
The carry rate is not fixed and rises in stress, at the same time as the demand for more collateral. Borrowing gets expensive exactly when closing the position is worst.
Also known as: financing cost of a position