Limit Date Settlement For Free

If you purchased the shares with settled funds, you are free to sell at any time. If you bought the shares with unsettled funds, you can't sell them until the funds have settled. Selling shares before the funds used to purchase them settle results in a violation of settlement regulations.

The seller sets the date of settlement in the contract of sale. The settlement period is usually 30 to 90 days. Settlement is the date when you: pay the balance of the purchase price to the seller.

In March 2017, the SEC shortened the settlement period from T+3 to T+2 days. The SEC's new rule amendment reflects improvements in technology, increased trading volumes and changes in investment products and the trading landscape. Now, most securities transactions settle within two business days of their trade date.

The settlement date is the date on which a trade is final, when the buyer pays the seller and the seller delivers cleared assets to the buyer. The settlement arose to deal with the complex process of clearing a transaction but has since been reduced to as little as two business days (T+2) through the use of technology.

A transaction date represents the date on which a transaction occurs whereas the settlement date is the day on which the transaction is finalised, that is, the ownership of the security is transferred to the buyer.

The rationale for the delayed settlement is to give time for the seller to get documents to the settlement and for the purchaser to clear the funds required for settlement. T+2 is the standard settlement period for normal trades on a stock exchange, and any other conditions need to be handled on an "off-market" basis.

On February 15, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") adopted a rule amendment to shorten the standard settlement cycle for most routine securities trades from two business days after the trade date to one business day after the trade date (or from "T+2" to "T+1" in common parlance).