Betting on a falling price. Being "short" a security means to have sold it without owning it. A fund or individual may sell a security that the fund/individual does not presently own and before settlement of the transaction, the fund/individual will purchase an equivalent amount of that security in order to satisfy the sale. This strategy entails anticipating that the price will fall and it will be possible to buy the securities at a lower price later than they were sold for. The profit made is the spread between the two prices.
