> Whereas a buy order to execute Microsoft shares happens in microseconds. To be perfectly pedantic, you still aren't the owner of the Microsoft stock. Your b

> Whereas a buy order to execute Microsoft shares happens in microseconds. To be perfectly pedantic, you still aren't the owner of the Microsoft stock. Your broker makes a record of you being the beneficiary of X shares of Microsoft stock, with about a dozen asterisks. Each of those asterisks fall off over the course of the next few days and then it is all finalized - your broker owns a bunch of shares for your benefit. It only feels like it is instantaneous because they assume everything will work out (it usually does). They can do this, because everything is reversible if it doesn't. Now, if you would like to be the actual owner of Microsoft stock, you can do that. If you've never done that before, expect the process to take a few weeks. But go right ahead - head over to ComputerShare [1] and start the process. If you really want, you can even get them to issue you some paper stock certificates in your own name, but that takes even more time and comes with a lot of extra fees. [1] https://www-us.computershare.com/Investor/#DirectStock/Summary?IssuerId=SCUSMSCO&PlanId=SPP1&sv=t https://www-us.computershare.com/Investor/#DirectStock/Summa...