
Ghost trades - iliazin
Does anyone care to actually get ownership of securities when executing a trade?<p>My understanding is that when you &#x27;invest&#x27; in the stock market (long term play, to minimise risk, counteract inflation, etc.), you really do care to get ownership of the actual security you paid for. However, when you &#x27;trade&#x27; on the stock market, expecting to sell off the security soon after buying it (likely within the same day), you do not really care to own it as such and that the &#x27;security&#x27; might as well be just an entry in a database which grants you the right to &#x27;sell&#x27; it again sometime in the future (hopefully getting back more that you initially paid for it).
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awinter-py
I don't think there's a relevant distinction between a database entry and
ownership of the company.

If the stock wasn't a guarantee of equity rights, the information that drives
the market wouldn't have any financial meaning.

You can argue that market microstructure on a small enough scale isn't related
to fundamental value. Ok, maybe, but one of the reasons market microstructure
exists is that the exchanges nominate certain entities to be market makers in
order to ensure liquidity in the ticker symbol.

I think you'll find that most phenomena in stock trading are related in some
way to information about the stock's fundamentals. (Even if it's just sharks
taking the other side of elephants).

