Going Short “Against the Box”
When investors go short “against the box,” it simply means that the investors have shorted shares that they already own with no intention of delivering their own shares by the settlement date. This practice is called “against the box” because the owned shares are held safely in a box, while borrowed shares are sold. Shorting against the box used to be a common tax deferral strategy. By selling borrowed shares, investors could defer a capital gai