Alan,
Actually, I think that the language is more tricky than that. For instance, there is some additional language...
The term "day trading" means the purchasing of the same security on the same day in the margin account except for:
(a) a long security position held overnight and sold the next day prior to any new purchases of the same security, or
(b) a short security position held overnight and purchased the next day prior to any new sales of the same security.
Now given your scenario, the good "regulators" at the NYSE and NASD could rule that your technique of buying a "proxy" is just a way of skating around the rules and that you are nothing but a scummy "pattern day trader".
Also, for those of us who trade part time in the morning, trading at the close is not really an option.
Fundamentally, I believe the two biggest issues are the biased, but dejure, definition of a daytrader, and the capacity cut off your ability to short with less than $25,000 in your account. The first paves the way for more restrictive rules in the future and the second limits you to long positions even if you don't want to use margin.
Regards,
Dan. |
