Aug. 16, 2022
August 16, 2022 As a retail investor, below are the points I would like to make for this rule Transaction-by-transaction reporting should be supported because it eliminates the ability to \"hide within the aggregate\" transparency means transparency and aggregates are not transparent. The cost and effort for the 15-minute reporting requirement are justified to prevent fraud and prevent hiding in loopholes. Victimized companies need a greater ability to defend themselves against predators, and \"short selling in the dark\" harms true competition and price discovery. The idea that a small number of short-selling funds \"know best\" and can hammer unsuspecting companies in the dark is shameful. Retail investors will benefit from increased transparency. We have a much better idea of the risks of our decisions and transactions if we can see who is targeting which companies. If funds are allowed to short in the dark, retail investors remain dangerously unaware of the risks they take on when purchasing securities. Monitoring of short selling data for securities fraud is vital in strengthening the SEC, enabling it to better fulfill its duty and mandate to the investing public. Long, untracked 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. Transparency in this area is more important than it has ever been.