January 24, 2022
Put simply, we need transparency in the markets. Not all data needs to be immediately publicly available BUT FINRA/SEC should be, in near real-time, quickly and easily be able to track all short sales.
It is critical for the functioning of fair markets that we have a level playing field, any rules that are required for \"long\" ownership should also apply to \"short\" positions. It makes no sense that you would be required that report a 5% ownership stake in a company but not the fact that you are short 5% of the shares in a company, who does that benefit?
I would urge the SEC to do everything in their power to ensure that
1. A share can never borrowed more than once (AKA rehypothecation)
2. Derivatives, options, swaps, etc... are reported to FINA and the SEC to provide clear data on risk in the market.
3. Put protection in place to avoid a catastrophic failure of the market. For example, the fact that you could sell call options representing an infinite amount of shares in a company is nonsensical as there are only a finite amount of shares. Where is the collateral or any value? Cash is meaningless if one cannot deliver the shares that are promised.
Sincerely,
An American retail investor, praying for free, fair, and well regulated markets.