Going strictly by the letter of the law what you say makes sense. But there are other factors at play here. These are "computer nerds" taking aim at an American company from outside the US. I do not think they will find many willing to practice the restraint we would see if we were dealing with a typical wealthy American white collar criminal. Such behavior is normalized in some circles, but it is still seen as aberrant for any 'outsiders' to engage in the same behavior.
> These are "computer nerds" taking aim at an American company from outside the US. I do not think they will find many willing to practice the restraint we would see if we were dealing with a typical wealthy American white collar criminal. Such behavior is normalized in some circles, but it is still seen as aberrant for any 'outsiders' to engage in the same behavior.
1. That they are "computer nerds", in your words, is inconsequential. Their in-group will not be a deciding factor, for better or worse. This isn't high school, and the SEC has a minimum level of professionalism it does adhere to.
2. Your characterization is, more broadly speaking, not well-founded. Activist investors are not, as a rule, white collar criminals. in fact they're not typically any sort of criminal. The SEC doesn't need to practice restraint or extend arbitrary leniency (something the SEC is not known for, for any group), because the activity tends to only rarely overstep legal boundaries.
3. This behavior is not seen as aberrant for any outsiders, and it's not normalized to only some group in "Big Wall Street." For example, I'm an outsider to activist investing, and I find nothing aberrant about it at all. In fact I think of it somewhat positively.
I think you misinterpreted what I was talking about. Either that or you define 'activist investors' very differently from how I define it. What these people are doing is not 'activist investing.' They are providing disinformation, engaging in active and intentional deception towards the goal of destroying a company in order to profit. They are not uncovering wrongdoing or fraud. They are not doing due diligence and profiting from material information. That is not criminal, obviously, and is to be lauded!
If you engage in willful intentional deception, you are not an activist investor. You would be engaging in fraud and illicit market manipulation. I find it very bizarre that you would claim these malicious actors as activist investors. Most of the rest of your complaints with my statements seem to stem from your notion that I would do the same. I do not.
