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A Cash Account is a brokerage account, including retirement accounts and other non-retirement accounts that have not been approved for margin, that does not allow for any extension of credit on securities. In a Cash Account, all trades are accepted on the basis of receiving full payment in cash for purchases and good delivery of securities for sales by the trade settlement date.
In a Cash Account, the following transactions are allowed:
Short selling, option writing, and pattern day-trading strategies all require extension of credit under the terms of a Margin Account. To learn more about margin trading, on Fidelity.com, go to Investment Products > Trading > Commission and Margin Rates > Margin Borrowing.*
Rules for payment of securities transactions executed in accounts are established under Federal Reserve Board Regulation T. These rules allow for the acceptance of purchases in Cash Accounts if sufficient funds are in the account to pay for the purchase fully, or if you make a "good faith agreement” to make full payment promptly prior to both selling the security and settlement due date. Though settlement date varies by security type and trade conditions, it is generally three business days for equities, and one business day for options and most mutual funds. Fixed income security settlement will vary based on security type and new issue versus secondary market trading.
Note that the definition of sufficient funds residing in the account does not include Cash Account sale proceeds that have not settled. It also does not include non-core account money market positions. If you do not have sufficient funds on hand to purchase a security, you must agree to pay for the security before buying it.
If a security purchased without sufficient funds on hand is sold prior to being fully paid for, a “good faith violation” has occurred, even if payment is received prior to settlement. The reason it is referred to as a “good faith violation” is that trade activity is giving the appearance that sales proceeds are being used to cover buy orders when there is insufficient settled cash to cover these purchases. Basically, trade activity indicates that a “good faith” effort to deposit additional cash into the account will not happen. If payment is not received at all,prior to settlement, then a “freeriding” violation has occurred. Accounts with three good faith violations or one freeriding violation in a 12-month period must be restricted to purchasing securities only with sufficient funds on hand in the form of core account balance, received deposit, or settled sale proceeds. This restriction expires in 90 days.
The following examples** illustrate good faith violations and freeriding restrictions.
Good Faith Violation Example 1
A Cash Account with Available to Purchase Securities = $0.00
Good Faith Violation Example 2
A Cash Account with Available to Purchase Securities = $10,000
Good Faith Violation Example 3
A Cash Account with Available to Purchase Securities = $10,000, Cash Credit from Unsettled Activity = $5,000 (due to the proceeds from a sale of stock the prior Friday, and the trade settles on Wednesday)
Freeriding Example 1
A Cash Account with Available to Purchase Securities = $0.00
Freeriding Example 2
A Cash Account with Available to Purchase Securities = $5,000
Available to Purchase Securities is defined as the cash dollar amount available for trading in the core account without adding money to the account. This balance includes intraday transaction activity.
For unrestricted cash accounts, all buy trades are debited and all sell trades are credited from the Available to Purchase Securities balance as soon as the trade executes, not when the trade settles. For example, if the core account balance is $10,000, a deposit of $10,000 is received today, and the account has a $10,000 credit balance from unsettled activity, the Available to Purchase Securities balance would be $30,000.
For cash accounts restricted for freeriding or good faith violations, the Available to Purchase Securities balance will not include unsettled cash account sale proceeds.
*Margin trading entails greater risk and is not suitable for all investors. Please assess your financial circumstances and risk tolerance prior to trading on margin. Margin is extended by NFS, Member NYSE, SIPC.
**These examples do not account for any fees, commissions, interest or taxes you may be required to pay.