Jul. 14, 2020
The recent SEC proposal to raise the required reporting threshold for 13F filings seems to reduce transparency. It appears cost is not a major factor. Below are some of my concerns: · Raising the reporting threshold to such a high number will severely limit future academic research on markets, investing and securities. · Raising the reporting threshold to such a high number will reduce public companies' opportunity to know more about who their shareholders are. · Many managers are known to talk among themselves, sharing ideas and information. They have access to company management that small investors don't. Given the SEC's emphasis on a level fair playing field, this rule change makes no sense. · The “justification” for the rule change is highly questionable. · When is less transparency and less data ever a good thing for the small investor? · Some investors may want to avoid over-owned stocks, believing they have a high level of risk. This rule change greatly reduces individual investors ability to reduce their risk. · In the event of a significant correction the number of reporting managers would be diminished even further. The S&P suffered a 56.4% decline during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. A similar event using the most recent quarter as an example, would have reduced the number of funds by another 31% at a time when such data is needed even more. Thank you for your attention to this matter Sam McNaughton