What is the minimum equity requirement for a customer making an initial purchase of $3,000 in a margin account?

In a margin account, when an investor makes an initial purchase, FINRA requires that the investor has a minimum equity of at least 50% of the purchase price for the initial margin transaction. This is often referred to as the "Regulation T" requirement.

For an initial purchase of $3,000, the minimum equity requirement would be calculated as follows: 50% of $3,000 equals $1,500. However, there’s an additional requirement referred to as the "minimum margin requirement," which may vary by firm but is often set to a minimum of $2,000.

Given this information, the correct answer reflects the industry standard of maintaining a minimum equity of $2,000 when making an initial margin purchase, therefore confirming that the minimum equity requirement for a customer making an initial purchase of $3,000 in a margin account is indeed $2,000. This ensures that customers have some level of equity after borrowing funds to finance their purchase and mitigates the risk for brokerage firms.