Break-Even Price After Bursa Fees — The Real Number
TL;DR — Your break-even on Bursa Malaysia is not your entry price. Fees are charged on both the buy and the sell, so the price must rise enough to repay both rounds before you’re in profit — typically about ~0.42% above entry on a normal-sized overnight trade (e.g., at M+ Online’s 0.08% rate), and much more on small trades where the minimum brokerage dominates. Rates vary by broker.
Break-even is a price, not your cost
Most traders treat their entry price as the line between loss and profit. It isn’t. The moment you buy, you’ve already paid brokerage, the clearing fee and stamp duty — and you’ll pay all three again when you sell. Until the price rises far enough to cover both sets of fees, selling still books a loss. That recovery price is your true break-even.
The round-trip cost behind it
Every Bursa trade carries three standard costs on each leg (listed-share brokerage is SST-exempt):
| Cost | Rate | On buy | On sell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brokerage | varies by broker — e.g., M+ Online: 0.08% overnight / 0.05% intraday, min RM8 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Clearing fee | 0.03% of contract value, cap RM1,000 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stamp duty | RM1 per RM1,000 (rounded up), cap RM1,000 | ✓ | ✓ |
The sum of all six charges (three on the buy, three on the sell) is your round-trip cost — the full detail is in our Bursa Malaysia trading fees guide.
Worked example
For illustration only. A RM10,000 overnight buy at M+ Online (0.08% brokerage, min RM8):
| Fee | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage | 0.08% × RM10,000 = RM8 (min RM8 applies) | RM8.00 |
| Clearing | 0.03% × RM10,000 | RM3.00 |
| Stamp duty | RM1 × 10 (per RM1,000 rounded up) | RM10.00 |
| Buy-side total | RM21.00 |
The sell leg costs approximately the same, giving a round-trip cost of ~RM42, or ~0.42% of a RM10,000 position. Rates vary by broker — always check your own brokerage schedule.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Round-trip cost | RM21.00 buy + ~RM21.00 sell | ~RM42 |
| As % of position | RM42 ÷ RM10,000 | ~0.42% |
| Entry price (example) | — | RM1.00 |
| Break-even price | RM1.00 × (1 + 0.0042) | ≈ RM1.0042 |
Figures are for illustration only.
So a stock bought at RM1.00 doesn’t break even at RM1.00 — it breaks even near RM1.0042. Anything below that and the fees, not the market, still own the trade.
Why small trades break even much higher
The round-trip percentage isn’t fixed — it’s dominated by the minimum brokerage on small positions. The same RM8 minimum that’s trivial on a RM20,000 trade is a heavy drag on a RM1,000 one, pushing the break-even cushion from a fraction of a percent to well over 1%. The smaller the trade, the further the price has to move just to stand still.
How BursaEdge handles this
Break-even is a built-in feature of two tabs inside BursaEdge’s calculator — not a separate tool. In the Trade Calc tab, the Price Ladder highlights your break-even row in amber, showing the exit price that clears all buy and sell fees. In the Average Calculator tab, it computes a blended break-even after you add to a position. Both fold all six charges — brokerage with your minimum, clearing and stamp duty on both legs — into a single price, so you can see the exact figure a position must reach before you place it. It’s an educational tool for understanding your numbers; the decision to trade is always yours.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the break-even price on a Bursa Malaysia trade?
It's the price at which the gain on your shares exactly covers all fees on both the buy and the sell. On a typical overnight trade (e.g., at M+ Online's 0.08% rate) the round-trip cost is roughly 0.42% of position value — so a stock bought at RM1.00 breaks even near RM1.0042. Rates vary by broker and trade size.
Why is my break-even higher than my entry price?
Because fees are charged twice — once when you buy and once when you sell. Brokerage, clearing fee and stamp duty all apply on each leg, so the price has to rise enough to repay both rounds of costs before any profit begins. Listed-share brokerage on Bursa is SST-exempt.
How do I calculate break-even after fees?
Add all buy-side fees and all sell-side fees to get the round-trip cost, divide by the number of shares to get a per-share cushion, then add that cushion to your entry price. The result is the price you must reach just to be flat.
Does the minimum brokerage change my break-even?
Yes, sharply on small trades. A fixed minimum brokerage is a large percentage of a small position, so the per-share cushion — and therefore the break-even price — is much higher on a RM1,000 trade than on a RM20,000 one.
Educational information only. Not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.