Which stocks can you short sell?

The actual stocks that you can short sell are typically determined by the brokerage and are influenced by trading volume, so stocks of larger companies are more likely to be available for shorting. Check on any stocks you're considering shorting within your brokerage account.

How do you know when a stock is heavily shorted?

The market keeps track of stocks that are sold short through a measure called short interest. You can look up a stock's short interest in your brokerage account or on other market data websites.

Can I short sell stocks I already own?

Yes, you can sell short stocks that you own to protect your portfolio from a drop in price and avoid creating a taxable event. This is known as a short sell against the box and is a strategy utilized by long-term investors.

What is the best way to short a stock?

This depends on your risk profile. You can short a stock by buying inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs), or you can directly short a stock via brokerage platforms. This means you would have to borrow the shares you want to short from the brokerage and sell them on the market. Shorting shares directly comes with additional fees and costs as opposed to inverse ETFs where you only pay either a small annual fee or no fee at all depending on the ETF.

Home Authors Holly Jennings

Holly Jennings

Copy Editor

Holly Jennings is the deputy crypto editor and updates writer at Finder, working with writers across all niches to deliver quality content to readers. She’s edited hundreds of financial articles ranging from credit cards to investments. With empathy at heart, she especially enjoys content that breaks down complex financial situations into easy-to-understand information. Prior to her role at Finder, she collaborated with dozens of small businesses to maximize the reach and impact of their blog posts, website copy and other content. In her spare time, she is an award-winning author for Penguin Random House, writing about virtual reality worlds, magical girls and lasers that go pew-pew.

Expertise

Cryptocurrency
Digital assets
Investments
Personal Banking

Education

Bachelor of Arts in psychology | University of Ottawa | 2004–2008

Industry insights from Holly Jennings

We asked Holly to flex her expertise by answering some questions about how Finder approaches editorial independence and advocates for its readers.

How do you ensure that all Finder’s articles carry its brand voice?

As an author, I’m all about voice. It’s what changes plain, boring text that can feel like a lecture into a conversation with a friend. With the topics we cover and facts we need to get right, it can be difficult not to slip into industry jargon. So it’s important to remember it’s all about the person at the other end of the article. They want to learn while feeling they’re a part of the conversation. A big key to accomplishing this is to really know your topic to the point where you’re having fun with it. The reader will feel that on the page.

How do you break down complex financial topics for easy consumption?

I come from a background of writing and editing science fiction, which might sound like it doesn’t relate at all. But in sci-fi, you need to train your brain to look at the writing objectively and ask yourself, “If I wasn’t the one creating this new technology or alien species or whatever, would I understand the context by what’s on the page?” It’s the same with financial topics. You want the reader to feel like they understand it without talking down to them or beating them over the head with it.