Glossary term

Shorting

Betting that a security will fall.

To short, an investor borrows a security, sells it, and hopes to buy it back cheaper later. Shorting can hedge risk, but losses can be large if the price rises.

Example: Shorting an index ETF can offset part of the market exposure from a long stock portfolio.

Where this appears

Why retail investors can now compete with hedge funds Short-term reversal: real but hard to trade