Hedge funds will now have to disclose more information about their short-sale transactions to the SEC, including the gross short positions in certain stocks at the end of each month and details on related trading activity, such as derivatives. The SEC will then aggregate this data and publish it with a delay.
This new rule is designed to give the SEC and the public more information about short-sale activity, especially during times of stress or volatility. It is also meant to help distinguish between hedging activity by businesses and bets against a company.
Hedge funds will also have to report securities lending transactions, such as the time of the loan, fees, and which company's securities are involved. This is the first time that the SEC has required such disclosures, and it is designed to bring more transparency to the $3 trillion securities-lending market.
The new rules were approved by the SEC's three Democrats over objections by the two Republican commissioners. The final version of the rules made some changes from the SEC's original proposal, such as giving firms more time to report loans and making loan amounts public 20 days later instead of in near real time.
The hedge fund industry has pushed back on many of the new regulations that require hedge funds to share more information with the regulator. However, the SEC says that the new short-sale reporting will help inform the market and regulators about overall short-sale activity and distinguish between hedging activity and bets against a company. Discuss more here: https://discord.gg/optionstrading
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