Aug. 16, 2022
August 16, 2022
Transaction-by-transaction reporting is a must because it eliminates the ability to hide within the aggregate which is by definition not transparent. I also support the 15-minute reporting requirement, the cost and effort are justified to prevent fraud and prevent unethical parties from hiding transactions via loopholes.
Victimized companies need a greater ability to defend themselves against predators, and short selling in the dark. This short selling harms true competition and price discovery. The idea that a small number of short-selling funds \"know best\" while they hammer unsuspecting companies in the dark is just sad.
Retail investors will benefit from increased transparency. Retail has a much better idea of the risks of their decisions and transactions if they can see who is targeting what company. If short sellers are allowed to short in the dark, retail investors remain dangerously unaware of the risks they take on when purchasing securities.
The public serving as a first-line of defense in monitoring short selling data for securities fraud will strengthen the SEC and better enable it to fulfill its mission while saving it time and resources. The dangers inherent in long, not traced lending chains, can lead to economic fragility. Securities lending activity can hide massively destructive chains of obligation that can even be a threat to national security, and so transparency in this area is more important than it has ever been.