Opening up short sell account with Commsec

[investormichael]

Hi there,

I am new to short selling. I opened up a short sell in account with comsec, and wanted to place an order. But it says you dont have enough collateral to place an order. Can someone please explain this to me as I do have sufficient cash in my CDIA account.

Many Thanks,

Michael

 

[Wysiwyg]

If you spoke directly to your broker they would explain the situation.

Here is the commsec number : Phone:13 15 19 (within Australia: 8am to 8pm, AEST, Mon to Fri)

 

[SilverRanger]

Dialing Commsec's customer service number is a real test of your patience, be prepared

 

[jono1887]

Dialing Commsec's customer service number is a real test of your patience, be prepared

I've failed numerous times after being on hold for 30+ min.. be ready to have 1hr of free time

 

[Wysiwyg]

Dialing Commsec's customer service number is a real test of your patience, be prepared

I called them very recently and there was the usual button press then a less than 2 minute wait. I would not call at 10.00 a.m. as this time would be busy.

 

[Sunder]

I called them very recently and there was the usual button press then a less than 2 minute wait. I would not call at 10.00 a.m. as this time would be busy.

+1 on this. If it's after 10:30 on a normal trading day, I've never had to wait more than 5 mins.

I've had to wait 3 hours on one of the crazy margin call days in January 2008 though. I wasn't margin called, but I placed an "at market" order, which Comsec actually take to mean the best price when you click the go button - but if by the time it actually gets placed, the market has moved, the order isn't updated. (e.g Placed an at market sell order at $10.00, but in the few seconds that it took to be processed, it's $9.50. Your order remains "at market", with a ask of $10.00, and can't be changed or cancelled. I try not to use the at market feature now, instead putting at limit orders a few cents above/below the last quote. Even though that's slower, if it's wrong, I can adjust my order).

Edit: Oh yeah, did you just close off another short the same day by the way? I've had that happen too, where collateral used for recent trades are unavailable, even though your position was closed out.

 

[investormichael]

Thanks for your response guys. Unfortunately I cant call them as I am on exchange overseas. And its so expensive to call from overseas especially if I have to wait 1 hour for a response!!!! Im relatively new to the concept of short selling with comsec. Would someone kindly explain to me how it works with a comsec account, including transactions in a hypothecial situation. Cheers guys. Looking forward to coming back home at the end of the year!

 

[Prem]

sorry for the noob q but,

Whats exactly is involved in short selling

i realize you sell the stock first

but does it require any capital for start up

 

[awg]

Hi there,

I am new to short selling. I opened up a short sell in account with comsec, and wanted to place an order. But it says you dont have enough collateral to place an order. Can someone please explain this to me as I do have sufficient cash in my CDIA account.

Many Thanks,

Michael

try emailing them if you cant ring.

last time I checked, you still could not place short trades on shares with commsec AT ALL.

prior to that, there was restrictions and other bullsh!t that made commsec wholly unsatisfactory as a trading platform for shorting.

I use CFDs for shorting

 

[jono1887]

try emailing them if you cant ring.

last time I checked, you still could not place short trades on shares with commsec AT ALL.

prior to that, there was restrictions and other bullsh!t that made commsec wholly unsatisfactory as a trading platform for shorting.

I use CFDs for shorting

you can, you just have to activate the feature... and they add a fee on top of the normal brokerage

 

[TonyF]

"When you place a Day Short Sell Open order, you must lodge collateral consisting of unencumbered shares with a market value equal to 22.5% of the full value of your Day Short Open order. "

Cash in your CDIA doesn't count as collateral right?

 

[jono1887]

"When you place a Day Short Sell Open order, you must lodge collateral consisting of unencumbered shares with a market value equal to 22.5% of the full value of your Day Short Open order. "

Cash in your CDIA doesn't count as collateral right?

I think it would...