CHAPTER 18- POSITION, STRATEGIES AND TRADE AUTHORITY

A customer is long 400 shares of BuyStuff Inc., a big-box retailer. He borrows 400 shares to sell while maintaining his long position. This sale is called
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A customer is long 400 shares of BuyStuff Inc., a big-box retailer. He borrows 400 shares to sell while maintaining his long position. This sale is called
short against the box.

This is called a short against the box. It was a popular way of locking in a capital gain and deferring the tax consequences into another year. However, this practice was restricted by the Tax Relief Act of 1997; it was so restricted that it has largely disappeared as a practice.
Who must grant permission for a representative to have discretionary trading authority on an account?
The customer and a principal of the broker-dealer

Authorization for discretionary trading must come from both the customer and the firm (represented by a principal). The representative's authorization is not a requirement.
Rep. Pete receives a call from his client, Neil, to place a trade. He wants to buy 200 shares of the Starshine Entertainment Company. Pete asks Neil a few questions about the trade before placing it. This is
unsolicited trade

As the representative did not introduce the trade to the customer this is an unsolicited trade. The customer provide the three key elements of the order (Action, Asset, Amount) it is not a discretionary trade.
Your customer purchased 300 shares of XYZ stocks six months ago and sold the shares last week. The actions your customer took in relation to XYZ were to
Buy long and sell long

The purchase of the stock is a long buy. The subsequent sale of the long position is a long sale.
Before executing a short sale the broker-dealer must first
locate the shares to be borrowed.

The locate requirement mandates that the broker-dealer have located the share to be borrowed before the order is executed. If the customer already owns the shares then this would be a short against the box, and still requires the broker-dealer locate the shares. As this is an unlimited risk position it would be impossible to deposit sufficient funds to cover the potential loss.
Two weeks ago representative Pete introduced his customer Neil to the Windmill Growth Fund in response to Neil's interest in growth funds. Today the customer calls Pete to place a trade to invest $10,000 in the Windmill Growth Fund. This is
a solicited trade

As the representative introduced the security to the customer, this is a solicited trade. The customer provided the three key elements of the order (action, asset, amount) it is not a discretionary trade.
Your client, Bill Hearst, inherited several thousand shares of his grandfather's auto parts manufacturer, National Autoparts. He sells a portion of the position in order to raise some cash to buy a new boat. Which of these is true?
this is a secondary market transaction
this is a long sale of a stock

The issuer has no part of this transaction; it is considered a secondary market transaction. It does not matter that Bill did not buy the shares; it matters that he owned them. This is a long sale.
A customer has an account with a broker-dealer who provides a group of services, such as asset allocation, portfolio management, trade executions, and administration, for a single fee. This is known as a
wrap account

Wrap accounts are accounts for which firms provide a group of services, such as asset allocation, portfolio management, executions, and administration, for a single fee rather than charging commissions for individual transactions. Wrap accounts are generally investment advisory accounts and can be cash accounts, margin accounts, discretionary accounts, or nondiscretionary accounts.
Two months ago your customer sold short 200 shares of Seabird Airlines at $15 a share. Today, the stock is trading at $10 a share. In order to close out the position your customer would
buy 200 shares of Seabird

A customer would need to buy the shares in order to close this short position. Borrowing the shares does not close the short, nor does buying the call. They could buy the call and then exercise, but the buy, alone, does not close the position. If they closed the position at $10 they would have a gain.
A registered representative placing trades in a customer account must have discretionary authority if they choose which of the following aspects of the trade?
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