Short selling is the act of borrowing stock to sell with the expectation of the price dropping and the intent of buying the stock back at a cheaper price. There are substantial risks with short selling, some of which can be avoided through education on the process. 

It’s just another form of forward sales, i.e., short sellers risk getting their fingers burnt if prices don’t fall as expected, so it’s not the one-way bet some people might imagine.

Short selling is a beneficial process that allows anyone to participate in the market’s evaluation of share prices. So long as contracts are enforced, even naked short selling can be a beneficial process that allows the quickest possible adjustment in mispriced stocks. 

Short-sellers attempt to profit from an expected decline in the price of a financial instrument. Short selling is not for everyone for the simple reason that stocks generally tend to go up. During the 20th century, stocks gained 9% a year on average, although there was significant yearly variation. 

The whole short selling process is not complex, but it’s a concept that many investors have trouble understanding. In general, people think of investing as buying an asset, holding it while it appreciates in value, and then eventually selling to make a profit. Short selling is and has been an essential market stabilizing transaction. Banning it is tantamount to closing the market. 

Short selling is successfully used as a profitable investment strategy by some savvy investors, but many investors use short selling only to hedge their long positions and minimize risk of market fluctuations. Hedging is certainly a safer short selling strategy, although the potential gains are eclipsed by successful short selling speculation.