Short Sales: An Integral Part of Price Discovery
CBOE Views on Short Sales:
- Legitimate short selling is an integral market function that enhances price discovery, mitigates market bubbles, increases liquidity, limits upward market manipulations and, importantly, facilitates hedging and other risk management activities.
- Options markets are vital to risk management and serve to reduce volatility in underlying markets.
- Options market makers (OMMs), who provide liquidity for options market customers, must have the ability to efficiently hedge the risks they assume.
- CBOE supports strict enforcement of rules prohibiting abusive short selling.
- SEC's approach should be narrowly tailored to target abusive short selling while not restraining legitimate activity (whether long or short, buying or selling) -- particularly activity that is critical for the maintenance of fair and orderly markets.