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To be clear I wasn't talking at all about buy-side. I was talking about big broker-dealers. They are all MTM as far as I know. My point was that finance in and
by seanhunter 3y ago
To be clear I wasn't talking at all about buy-side. I was talking about big broker-dealers. They are all MTM as far as I know.
My point was that finance in and on itself doesn't depend on a concept of unrealized gains. It's perfectly possible to devise a system of taxation that just says you have to mark to market and then pay tax on that. There would for sure be complications around how you get valuations for illiquid investments etc.
- pclmulqdq 3y agoBroker-dealers often have a short holding period anyway, so the use of MTM accounting is basically a wash and I imagine it's a lot easier than tracking exactly when you bought each security. Things that banks and financial companies hold for a long time get a lot more care in terms of their accounting, in general.