Two borrowers with identical loan sizes can end up paying all-in rates that differ by two to three percentage points, purely based on their portfolio’s size, diversification, and their existing relationship with a lender. With SOFR sitting around 5.40% through much of 2026, and lender spreads ranging anywhere from 0.75% to 3.5% on top, understanding what actually drives your specific rate matters considerably before you assume any single quote reflects the whole market.
The Basic Structure: Benchmark Plus Spread
Our Stock Loans page covers the broader product; this page focuses specifically on how pricing is actually built. Most stock loan facilities are priced as a floating benchmark rate – commonly SOFR for dollar-denominated facilities – plus a lender’s own spread, typically somewhere between 1.0% and 3.5%. With SOFR around 5.40%, this produces an all-in rate commonly falling between 6.5% and 9% APR, though your own specific figure depends heavily on the factors below.
Why Portfolio Size Genuinely Moves the Needle
Larger portfolios, commonly those above £5 million, typically access the tightest spreads available – often at the lower end of the 0.75% to 1.5% range – since a lender genuinely views a larger, more substantial relationship as lower risk and worth pricing more competitively to retain. Smaller portfolios, particularly those arranged through faster, more automated online platforms rather than a full private banking relationship, tend to see meaningfully wider spreads, though the process itself is often faster and more straightforward to set up.
Why Diversification Genuinely Affects Your Rate
A genuinely diversified equity portfolio prices more favourably than a concentrated single-stock position or a portfolio holding alternative assets, since the lender’s own risk is meaningfully lower when your collateral isn’t dependent on one company’s share price. Our Lombard Loans page covers borrowing against a genuinely diversified mix of equities, bonds, and funds specifically, worth reading if your portfolio spans more than concentrated equity holdings, since this diversification itself can translate into a meaningfully better rate.
Why Draw Size Within a Facility Matters
If you’re using a revolving credit line rather than drawing the full facility as a single term loan, it’s worth knowing that larger individual draws within that line typically price more tightly than smaller, more frequent draws, since the lender’s administrative cost is spread across a larger sum either way.
Why an Existing Relationship Genuinely Moves Your Rate
Borrowers with an existing wealth management or banking relationship with a specific lender commonly access what’s genuinely called relationship pricing – a meaningfully better rate than a new client with no prior history would be offered, reflecting the lender’s existing knowledge of your circumstances and the broader value of the relationship beyond this single facility.
Why Rates Genuinely Float, Not Just at Origination
It’s worth understanding that stock loan rates typically reset periodically – commonly monthly or quarterly, depending on your specific lender – meaning your actual rate moves whenever the underlying benchmark does, not just at the point you first draw down the facility. This is worth factoring into your ongoing cost planning, rather than assuming your initial quoted rate remains fixed for the life of the loan.
Why Crypto Collateral Is Priced on Genuinely Different Logic
Our Crypto-Backed Loans page covers a genuinely different pricing structure, where volatility and liquidation speed, rather than benchmark-plus-spread mechanics, drive much of the cost – worth understanding as a fundamentally different pricing logic if you’re comparing a crypto-backed facility against a traditional stock loan on rate alone.
Why Your Loan-to-Value Choice Genuinely Affects Pricing Too
Beyond the factors above, borrowing at a lower loan-to-value than the maximum a lender offers can itself unlock a somewhat better rate, since you’re presenting genuinely less risk relative to your pledged collateral’s value. Our piece on margin call on a stock loan covers how this same loan-to-value choice also affects your genuine margin call buffer, worth reading alongside this page since the two considerations – pricing and risk buffer – are genuinely connected, not separate decisions.
Why Comparing Across Providers Genuinely Matters
Given how much rates genuinely vary based on portfolio size, diversification, relationship, and provider type, it’s worth comparing across the whole market rather than accepting a single quote, since the same portfolio can attract meaningfully different pricing depending on which specific lender is actually assessing it. Our Securities Lending hub covers the full range of providers and structures worth considering before committing to a specific facility.
Getting Genuinely Competitive Pricing for Your Portfolio
Given how much genuinely depends on your specific portfolio size, composition, and any existing relationships you hold, it’s worth having a proper conversation about your realistic pricing before assuming any single quote reflects what’s genuinely available to you. Get in touch with details of your portfolio, and we’ll help you understand what rate genuinely fits your circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the typical all-in rate for a stock loan in 2026?
Commonly 6.5% to 9% APR, based on SOFR around 5.40% plus a lender spread of 1.0% to 3.5%, though your specific rate depends on several individual factors.
Why do larger portfolios get better rates?
Lenders generally view larger, more substantial portfolios as lower risk and worth pricing more competitively to retain the relationship, often accessing spreads at the lower end of the typical range.
Does portfolio diversification genuinely affect my rate?
Yes – a diversified equity portfolio typically prices more favourably than a concentrated single-stock position, given the lower risk a spread of holdings represents.
Does my rate stay fixed once I draw down the facility?
Generally no – stock loan rates typically float and reset periodically, commonly monthly or quarterly, moving in line with the underlying benchmark rate.
Can choosing a lower loan-to-value get me a better rate?
Often yes – borrowing below the maximum available loan-to-value presents less risk to the lender, which can translate into more competitive pricing.
Get in touch with details of your portfolio and funding requirement, and we’ll help you understand what rate genuinely applies to your specific circumstances.
