Cash account

A cash account is the simplest type of brokerage account. An investor can only buy securities with money they have deposited, with no borrowing involved. This makes a cash account the lower-risk counterpart to a margin account.

Because there is no borrowed money in play, a cash account cannot lose more than what was deposited into it from market moves alone, and there is no risk of a margin call. Most new investors start with a cash account before, if ever, moving to a margin account.