Gyroscopic Investing

On a previous post, Craig and others warned about one's broker loaning out shares if margin was available on the account...something like that.  Is this possible with ETFs as well?  I have a straight 4 ETF PP with no stocks.  My broker (TD Ameritrade) said it was not possible with ETFs because they are "open ended", yada, yada, yada. 

Hoping someone can clarify this for me.

Your broker can lend out your ETFs if held in a margin account.  Some people claim that they can't if you maintain a positive balance (ie don't use the margin), but I'm pretty sure they still do since the ETFs are simply in a giant pool account with the broker and you have a claim to a certain amount of those ETFs.

I don't think its anything to really worry about, but if you're not using the margin and don't plan to use it, then might as well use a Cash Account.

I still use a margin account since it makes it easier to perform cheap currency conversions.

Thanks for the clarification