hi Traders: quick question: "short" term for option and stock

In the office or on the floor and describing a trade, do you ever use the word "sell"? or do you sub in "short" for everywhere "sell" should be?

For example:

You have 100 FDX stock. You want to sell them.

Do you say:

(1) "I'm going to short my 100 FDX."
or
(2) "I'm going to sell 100 FDX."

I get that the first one is technically incorrect, because you've already bought the stock, but I'd just like to find out what conventions are used.

Also, if you have 10 FDX calls and you want to sell them, what would you say?

Cheers!

8 Comments
 
Best Response

the distinction matters, so no, you wouldn't use them interchangeably.

if you are shorting something, you're indicating a clear opinion that you think the stock is going down.

if you are selling something you already own, maybe you're just taking profit, and not necessarily expressing an opinion about future movement.

 

haha, not sure if these guys trade but there is a huge distinction in the street and more importantly regulators on how you mark this. if you are long and you sell shares...you mark it as a sell long...

if you are flat or short already, any sells must be marked as a sell short. nowadays, properly marking these things is very important in this regulatory environment and if you don't use the lingo properly, you look like an amateur

also see UBS and their fine with marking short selling improperly. to be clear, you must locate a borrow when you short unless you are a registered market maker and then you have t+6 from trade date to get borrow, cover the position, or get bought in via regsho

 

Even though Monty has answered, I'll chip in my two cents.

'Sell 100k BAC' (and if it's a slow day; 'Sell 100k BAC, clear my position around here'). -- That would be a normal order.

'Short 30k FRO' --- that means I need to inform Clearing/Settlement and mark this order with a SHORT.

CNBC sucks "This financial crisis is worse than a divorce. I've lost all my money, but the wife is still here." - Client after getting blown up
 

Et minus facilis nam. Aut consequuntur rerum quis et nihil corrupti. Excepturi qui labore est sed quidem dolor. Autem in molestiae et. Recusandae aut magni voluptatem consequatur dolore in. Aut ea omnis et dolorem blanditiis est vel.

Voluptatum et facilis nemo aut ea eos. Et sint qui nesciunt repellendus rem veniam. Et fuga beatae nostrum id distinctio et. Autem blanditiis quibusdam vel.

Modi iusto rerum sunt necessitatibus. Doloremque ut doloremque tempora sequi ut facilis. Optio totam adipisci facere aliquid autem dolor explicabo et.

Nihil molestiae assumenda facilis repellat explicabo sed quia. Consequuntur dolorem sed quia non labore repellat aut. Ut nisi eos autem magnam. Omnis pariatur earum aspernatur similique dicta. Id molestias et maiores pariatur optio.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”