Definition, How It Works in Trading, and Example

Table of Contents

What Is a Close Position?

Final a spot refers to executing a security transaction that is the exact opposite of an open position, thereby nullifying it and eliminating the initial exposure. Final a longer position in a security would entail selling it, while last a temporary position in a security would include buying it once more. Taking offsetting positions in swaps may be reasonably commonplace to do away with exposure prior to maturity.

Final a spot is ceaselessly known as “position squaring.”

Key Takeaways

  • Final a spot refers to canceling out an present position to be had available in the market thru taking the opposite position.
  • In a temporary sale, this will suggest buying once more the safety, while a longer position comes to selling the safety.
  • A last transaction is in most cases initiated thru a broker alternatively, in some circumstances, it will also be forced closed thru brokerage firms if positive conditions are met.

Working out Close Positions

When trades and consumers transact to be had available in the market, they are opening and closing positions. The initial position that an investor takes on a security is an open position, and this could be each taking a longer position or temporary position on the asset. So that you can get out of the position, it will have to be closed. A longer will advertise to close; a temporary will acquire to close.

Final a spot thus involves the opposite movement that opened the position throughout the first place. An investor who purchased Microsoft (MSFT) shares, for example, holds those securities in his account. When he sells the shares, he closes the long position on MSFT.

The adaptation between the price at which the position in a security was once as soon as opened and the price at which it was once as soon as closed represents the gross get advantages or loss on that protection position. Positions will also be closed for any number of reasons—to take source of revenue or stem losses, reduce exposure, generate cash, and so on. An investor who must offset his capital options tax prison duty, for example, will close his position on a dropping protection in an effort to perceive or harvest a loss.

The time frame between the opening and closing of a spot in a security indicates the preserving period for the safety. This preserving period would in all probability vary widely, depending on the investor’s selection and the type of protection. For instance, day traders in most cases close out purchasing and promoting positions on the similar day that they have got been opened, while a long-term investor would in all probability close out a longer position in a blue-chip stock a couple of years after the position was once as soon as first opened.

It is probably not necessary for the investor to start last positions for securities that have finite maturity or expiry dates, an identical to bonds and possible choices. In such circumstances, the rest position is routinely generated upon maturity of the bond or expiry of the selection.

Explicit Problems

While most last positions are undertaken at the discretion of consumers, positions are from time to time closed involuntarily or thru power. For instance, a longer position in a stock held in a margin account may be closed out thru a brokerage corporate if the stock declines steeply, and the investor isn’t in a position to put throughout the additional margin required. Likewise, a temporary position may be topic to a buy-in throughout the event of a temporary squeeze.

An intensive position may well be partial or entire. If the safety is illiquid, the investor won’t be able to close all his positions immediately at the restrict price specified. Moreover, an investor would in all probability purposely close only a portion of his position. For instance, a crypto broker that has an open position on 3 XBT (token for Bitcoin), would in all probability close his position on only one token. To do this, he’ll enter a advertise order for one XBT, leaving him with two open positions on the cryptocurrency.

Example of a Closed Position

Assume an investor has taken a longer position on stock ABC and is expecting its price to increase 1.5 events from the date of his investment. The investor will close out his investment, after the price reaches the required level, thru selling the stock.

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