Quick Answer
Most United States securities settle regular way at T+1, one business day after the trade date, while cash settlement is same-day (T+0) only by special agreement. Corporate actions are either mandatory (stock splits) or voluntary (tender offers, rights offerings), and brokers holding street-name shares must forward materials and vote only routine matters without instructions.
The whole unit on one sheet: when trades finalize, how shares are held, and how corporate events reshape a position.
Core Concepts
- Settlement transfers securities from seller to buyer and payment from buyer to seller. Legal ownership changes on the settlement date, not the trade date (T).
- Regular way = the standard T+1 cycle, automatic on virtually all trades. Cash = same day (T+0), by special agreement only.
- Securities are held three ways: street name (electronic, in the broker-dealer's name), Direct Registration System (DRS) (electronic, in the investor's name), and physical certificates.
- A corporate action is a company-initiated event affecting its securities or shareholders, either mandatory or voluntary.
- A proxy is written authorization for someone else to vote a shareholder's shares at a meeting.
The One-Liners That Win Points
- Street name = broker-dealer's name on the issuer's books; the customer is still the beneficial owner with all dividends, voting rights, and economic risk.
- DRS is electronic (no certificate) but in the investor's name, so it is NOT the same as street name.
- Physical certificates must be in good deliverable form: properly endorsed, correct denomination, no defacing.
- Stock splits and reverse splits are mandatory. Tender offers, exchange offers, and rights offerings are voluntary.
- A split changes shares and price per share but NOT total position value, and it is NOT a taxable event.
- No instructions from the customer? The broker MAY vote routine matters, MAY NOT vote non-routine matters.
Numbers to Lock In
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Standard settlement (stocks, corporate bonds, municipal bonds, government securities, options) | T+1 |
| Cash settlement | T (same day, T+0) |
| New-issue Treasury bills (T-bills) at auction | Settle on issue date (typically 2-4 business days after auction) |
| Tender offer minimum open period | 20 business days |
| Rights offering period | Typically 30 to 60 days |
| Common forward split ratios | 2-for-1, 3-for-1, 3-for-2 |
| Common reverse split ratios | 1-for-5, 1-for-10, 1-for-4 |
The Split Math
- Forward split (e.g., 2-for-1): more shares, lower price. Shares x 2, price / 2. 100 shares at $80 becomes 200 shares at $40 ($8,000 either way).
- 3-for-2 split: 200 shares at $60 becomes 300 shares at $40 ($12,000 either way). Multiply shares by the ratio, divide price by the ratio.
- Reverse split (e.g., 1-for-5): fewer shares, higher price. Shares / 5, price x 5. 500 shares at $2 becomes 100 shares at $10 ($1,000 either way).
- The factor is whichever number in the ratio is greater than 1. Total value and total cost basis stay the same; cost basis per share changes.
Memory Aid: Routine = Ratification
- Routine = Ratification of auditors. That is essentially the only routine item at most annual meetings.
- Everything else (directors, mergers, executive compensation, stock plans, shareholder proposals) is non-routine. When in doubt, assume non-routine.
Top Gotchas
- Regular way is T+1, not T+2. T+2 is a common distractor. Government and municipal securities are exempt from the standard rule but still settle T+1 by convention.
- The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) adjusts options for splits (contracts up, strike down); total notional value is unchanged.
- After a split, good-til-cancelled limit and stop orders are adjusted; market orders are NOT.
- A stock buyback is not a voluntary action for shareholders; the company buys on the open market. Buybacks reduce shares outstanding and raise earnings per share (EPS).
- Director elections are non-routine (no longer votable without instructions). A broker non-vote counts for quorum but not as a vote for or against.
- Short tendering is prohibited: tender only the net long position (long shares minus short shares). Long 700 and short 300 in the same security means only 400 may be tendered.
One-Breath Recap
Regular way settles T+1, cash settles same day; most shares sit in street name with the customer as beneficial owner; splits are mandatory and value-neutral while tender and rights offerings are voluntary; and the broker forwards every notice but votes only ratification-of-auditors without instructions.
Need more than the recap? This is a condensed summary. If it is not enough, read the full Trade Settlement and Corporate Actions unit for the complete lesson.