Authored by: Eli Han and Luica Chen
In an order issued on February 7, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) granted a temporary exemption to institutional investment managers required to report certain information with regard to certain equity securities on Form SHO pursuant to Rule 13f-2, delaying the initial filing deadline to February 14, 2026 for the January 2026 reporting period, giving the industry more time for compliance. In a final rule-making issued on October 13, 2023, the SEC adopted a new Rule 13f-2 and the related Form SHO[1], imposing new short sale reporting obligations on institutional investment managers. The new rule is designed to enhance market transparency and regulatory oversight of short-selling activities, in response to concerns about manipulative or abusive short selling and the lack of transparency of short positions to both market participants and regulators. The new Rule 13f-2 came into effect on January 2, 2024, and the original compliance date was January 2, 2025.