Is it possible to short shares without borrow available with Interactive Brokers?

Discussion in 'Interactive Brokers' started by tonyf, Feb 19, 2020.

  1. tonyf

    tonyf

    Happy to close (or be forced to close) the position 2 days later. Would it even be possible to enter a short sale without shares being readily available to borrow?
     
  2. d08

    d08

    No.
     
  3. Robert Morse

    Robert Morse Sponsor

    Hi tonyf- Regulations require your broker to require you to get a "locate" for any stock symbol not on the easy to borrow list. A locate is not a borrow, but permission to sell short. IF you can't get that, you can look to see if there are options worth using as a short stock replacement. For stocks we can't get a locate for from our clearing broker, Wedbush, we also offer third party locates for a fee from Velocity Capital. They have a cost but are very popular with day traders. We have a tool built into Lightspeed Trader and you agree to the cost before accepting.
     
  4. tonyf

    tonyf

    I may open an account with you just for that... but then again, i am not a US resident.
     
  5. traider

    traider

    Try using CFD or find a bucketshop that trades against you. No shares actually changes hands just 2 sides betting against each other.
     
    Nobert likes this.
  6. tonyf

    tonyf

    Any suggestions?
     
  7. Robert Morse

    Robert Morse Sponsor

    We have a large number of foreign accounts.

     
    Nobert likes this.
  8. Nighthawk

    Nighthawk

    I know Wedbush, but who is Velocity Capital? There is a P/E firm in the Netherlands with the same name....??
     
  9. Nighthawk

    Nighthawk

    How much leverage do you offer to trade US equities? Let´s say account size is $10M?
     
  10. Robert Morse

    Robert Morse Sponsor

    Velocity Capital's only business is to have relationships that sell them locates. They offer them to broker-dealers which then offer them to customers with the coordination and permission of the clearing broker. Clients on Sterling, RealTick, and Silexx may use the Velocity portal but Lightspeed Trader has a built-in tool. https://www.velocitycapitalllc.com/vlcy/#/. Here is a current example using SPCE which requires a locate. You then click on the locate button and the cost comes up. (I can't do that at this time in the morning to show the next screen.) You then decide if you want to accept the cost. If you say accept, the locate is available immediately.
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    #10     Feb 20, 2020