Are shorts more available at Prop firms?

B

bl7077

I often am not able to short certain NASDAQ stocks that have a made big move recently through my (nameless) online broker. Apparently they are not available to be borrowed. Would trading at a prop firm remedy this situation? Do prop firms have any better access to inventory then the online discount brokerage firms? Or does this also often happen to traders at pro and prop firms? Thanks.
 
I would say most definitely. At my firm, maybe only twice in my two years was I not able to short a stock I wanted to short. Then I'd just call our ROP and usually they'd find shares and make them available.
 
I don't know if prop firms have better short lists than retail shops but I do know that Penson has the WORST easy to borrow list I've ever seen!!! Seems like 1 out of every 2 shorts I enter is denied.

I'm closing my Penson-based account as soon as I find a broker with more easy-to-borrows.

I hear Tradestation has an awesome short list but unfortunately their rates are retarded for volume traders.
 
Anyone know who Penson and TradeStation use for stock loan?

If I have to say once nice thing about SLK, I never found their stock loan dep't to be that bad.
 
i use penson as a clearing firm and find that my shorts always have to be found. The first thing i do in the morning is submit a short list to the trading desk. penson is usually pretty good about getting me at least 100k of stuff to short. I had EGHT short able this morning as well as CPN when it was trading in the .30's on the NYSE. Maybe you should just call up your trading desk and ask if they can find you some.........
 
mskummy i can't say i've ever tried shorting 30 cent stocks but i thought most brokers won't let you short stocks under $2 or so. also you msut be paying a fee to short some of these hard to borrow stocks that penson has to locate
 
I would have loved to shorted EGHT at $3.30 this morning, but was unable to because it wasn't available through my broker. Sometimes I feel like I am fighting with one hand behind my back because of this.
 
It may depend on what you want to short. I'll tell you my experience though.

I short mostly listed small caps that are sometimes quite difficult to locate. The best short availability is at large retail brokers like ETrade and Ameritrade. A distant second is Interactive Brokers. I have yet to find a single prop shop with decent availability, no matter who they clear through. I've talked to a lot of them.

Martin
 
martins right avilabilty at prop shops is awful. today i went to short cutr and ntri at a prop shop no dice they want 3 cetn a share to short those. i go to my ib account instant short.one must have a few accounts
 
Well, I trade thru Bright and I can remember only 1 time I couldn't get a short and that was a thin naz stock. In fact it's one of the reasons I went prop. The other is buying buyer (both intraday and overnight).
 
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