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Basic Question 15 of 16

The proceeds from a short sale ______

I. can be withdrawn by the seller.
II. must remain in the account of the seller.
III. can be invested in short-term, risk-free, interest-bearing securities.

User Contributed Comments 2

User Comment
farhan92 but by the word "proceeds"wouldn't one assume the short position has been covered and the stock repurchased
ascruggs92 ^No, think of it this way instead. Say you wanted to initiate a short position on a stock at $100 per share. The initiation of a short position essentially entails three steps that happen simultaneously:

1. Borrow $100 from broker.

2. Buy share of stock with borrowed funds.

3. Sell share for $100 dollars

At this point, the proceeds of your short sale, $100, can be reinvested in short-term securities or just sit in your account as cash, whichever you like. However, because you are obligated to buy the shares back and return it to the broker (remember, although I listed 1 & 2 separately to make it easier to understand, the broker is really lending you the share, not the cash, and therefore needs the share back, not just the cash), your account has a margin balance equal to the market value of the share that would be uncovered if you removed the proceeds
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I passed! I did not get a chance to tell you before the exam - but your site was excellent. I will definitely take it next year for Level II.
Tamara Schultz

Tamara Schultz

Learning Outcome Statements

compare positions an investor can take in an asset

calculate and interpret the leverage ratio, the rate of return on a margin transaction, and the security price at which the investor would receive a margin call

CFA® 2024 Level I Curriculum, Volume 3, Module 1.