Trade life cycle of securities lending
Many investors who trade through online brokerage accounts assume the next stop is a direct connection to the securities markets. Not quite. When you enter an order to buy or sell securities, your order is sent over the Internet to your brokerage firm—which in turn decides which market to send it to for execution. Trades are referred to generally as T+1, T+2 and T+3. ‘T’ refers to the transaction date (the date on which the trade was made). +1, +2 or +3 refers to the settlement date. If a trade is marked T+2 for example, securities and cash will be exchanged two days after the trade is made.