SSFs & Dividends

G

garbo

I've seen several threads on SSFs & ex-dividend dates. It seems like Fair Value = Cash Price + Interest - Dividends.

Question: If I'm short an SSF on a dividend-paying stock, do I have to PAY the dividend?

Also: Does IB allow its customers to deliver the stock to cover a short SSF position when the SSF expires (or are SSFs cash-settled)?
 
You don't have to pay the divs but the question abot delivery. maybe I'm not clear...

If you are short, upon delivery you will be short the shares. If you go to the cash market and buy stock it will offset and the postiion will be flat.
 
I thought that you were supposed to be able to hold ssf's in a stock account, unlike other futures that require a futures account. But as I undertand it, all the brokerages only allow ssf's in a futures account right now, making stock delivery to settle impossible at this point. Is this true? Can you hold a ssf in a stock account (not the workaround IB has implemented)?
 
Def -- Thanks.

I'm just trying to figure out how SSFs work. Would it be possible to hedge a postion in a dividend-paying stock with SSFs? i.e. keep rolling over the short SSF position every 3 months and pocket the dividend?
 
The price of the ssf will reflect the dividend payout of the common stock. If you are long a futures contract, you are not entitled to recieve a dividend payment, nor do you have to pay it if you are short.
 
Sure theoretically. But if someone was not pricing in a dividend into a SSF, it would trade quickly into line.

You will NOT collect a dividend with a SSF. That doesn't make it better or worse since the price of the future should compensate for not receiving the dividend. You could actually argue that there are tax advantages with a SSF since you don't have to pay tax on a the dividend you would receive if you owned the physical.
 
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