Margin Debt Simply Reflects Stock Prices: BTIG

The growth in margin debt is once again on people’s minds, reaching new all-time highs this year more or less in line with the S&P 500, but even if the buildup in debt is dangerous it doesn’t tell you when the next market correction (or crash) is coming.

“Margin debt, to the extent its anything, is a coincident indicator of broader market strength/weakness and reflects the growth in stock prices more generally,” writes BTIG analyst Dan Greenhaus.

Margin debt moves with stock prices

Greenhaus isn’t saying that margin debt is good (or bad) or that you should use margin debt yourself (or that you shouldn’t), just that you shouldn’t...