Long (finance)

Finance
Markets Bond Commodity Derivatives Foreign exchange Money Over-the-counter Private equity Real estate Spot Stock Participants Investor institutional Retail Speculator
Instruments Cash Credit line Deposit Derivative Futures contract Loan Option (call exotic put) Security Stock Time deposit (certificate of deposit)
Corporate Accounting Audit Capital budgeting Credit rating agency Risk management Financial statement Leveraged buyout Mergers and acquisitions Structured finance Venture capital
Personal Credit / Debt Employment contract Financial planning Retirement Student loan
Public Government spending Final consumption expenditure Operations Redistribution Transfer payment Government revenue Taxation Deficit spending Budget (balance) Debt Non-tax revenue Warrant of payment
Banks and banking Central bank Deposit account Fractional-reserve banking Loan Money supply Lists of banks
Regulation · Standards Bank regulation Basel Accords International Financial Reporting Standards ISO 31000 Professional certification Fund governance Accounting scandals
Economic history Private equity and venture capital Recession Stock market bubble Stock market crash

In finance, a long position in a security, such as a stock or a bond, or equivalently to be long in a security, means the holder of the position owns the security and will profit if the price of the security goes up. Going long^[1] is the more conventional practice of investing and is contrasted with going short. An options investor goes long on the underlying instrument by buying call options or writing put options on it.

In contrast, a short position in a futures contract or similar derivative means that the holder of the position will profit if the price of the futures contract or derivative goes down.

See also

• Short (finance)
• Position (finance)

Notes

References

• Harrington, Shannon D. and Tim Catts, Sep 13, 2010, "Bond Buyers Getting Burned by Going Long as Yields Climb: Credit Markets", Bloomberg News