The "daily Call" From Option Alpha: Options Trading | Stock Options | Stock Trading | Trading Online

Hey everyone. This is Kirk here again from Option Alpha and welcome back to the daily call. Today, we’re going to answer the question – “How much money do you need to short or sell stock?” This is a big question that people ask all the time and it's particularly interesting when people start getting into the world of investing and trading. They learn that they can actually make money by shorting stock or selling short stock and they can make money after the stock drops in price. You don't have to make money necessarily by buying stock and then selling it at a higher price. You can sell it or short-sell it and then buy it back in at a lower price. Now, the question is – “Well, how much money do I need to start doing this?” Well, there's a couple of things you have to think about. One, you have to think about the initial margin that's required on a position and many brokers then kind of hamburger on or stack on top of that, their own individual brokerage requirements. Right now, FINRA who’s the regulatory agenc