Time for change! Retail Investors have the right to trade in a free and equal market. For that to happen Hedge Funds need to be transparent and held accountable for their trading.

In 2017, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), introduced bi-partisan legislation, Bill S. 1744 (Brokaw Act) to modernize the 13D disclosure rules that apply to activist investors who obtain more than a 5 percent stake in a public company. Under current 13D rules, which have not been substantially updated in more than 40 years, activist funds don't have to disclose their stakes and intentions until 10 days until after they cross the 5 percent threshold, which allows these funds and their allies to continue to accumulate shares in secret. This legislation would reduce this reporting period to four days.

It would also require disclosure of any short or derivative positions that cross the 5 percent threshold, something that does not occur today. And finally, the bill would expand the 13(d) reporting requirement to include activists who are coordinating activities for the purpose of seeking control or influence over a public company.

Senator Baldwin plans to reintroduce this bill in early 2021. 

Read NIRI statement that urges the Senate to support 13D reform https://www.niri.org/NIRI/media/NIRI/Advocacy/NIRI-Senate-Banking-Committee-Statement-final_1.pdf​

https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/s1744/BILLS-115s1744is.pdf

More Information:

https://www.niri.org/advocacy/call-to-action​

Wolf Pack Investors 

**The Brokaw Act is named for a small town in Wisconsin that went bankrupt after the closure of its paper mill by an activist hedge fund.  The activist fund abused the outdated 13(d) securities rules to acquire a significant position in the Wausau Paper Company, force out its executives, and demand short-term profits at the expense of the company’s long-term future.  The activists generated significant returns for themselves at the expense of the workers in Brokaw.