Saving the VentureThe solution to ensuring the survival of the TSX Venture exchange is quite simple. Ban shorting, all shorting of any kind. That's it, nothing more, nothing less. If shorting were not allowed, a company could stand on its own merits and attract investors who would step in and buy shares, assured these shares would not be ripped to shreds by shorters. Shorting is unbridled theft, plain and simple.
If I had $10,000 in a bank account and anyone was allowed to withdraw from it, without charge or penalty, what do you think would happen? The account would soon end up with a zero balance, I would be out $10,000 and those who robbed my bank account would be enriched by the amount they had stolen.
Similarly, let's say I own 10,000 shares of Company A, which I bought and paid for at say 20 cents a share, using $2,000 of my own money. Broker B steps in and sells 10,000 shares of Company A which he didn't buy at let's say the same 20 cents per share. That broker just pocketed a cool $2,000, without investing a penny. Did he get my permission to sell my shares. Of course not. Do I get compensation for those shares Broker B just stole from my pocket? Of course not. Is this fair? Of course not. Is that broker every required to buy back those shares? I'm not sure, but I doubt it, because the fox appears to be watching the henhouse. The fox won't stop stealing hens until someone shoots it. Even if broker B does buy back those shares, he's already reduced the value of my 10,000 shares of Company A. Furthermore, he can sell another 10,000 shares, and another 10,000 shares, and another 10,000 shares in Company A, ad infinitum, forcing its shares to plummet. What do I, the legitimate investor, get in return? Nothing but grief and worthless shares.
Shorters would have us believe that shorting helps create what they euphemistically call "an orderly market." That is a self-serving myth, used to shore up their baseless argument and keep my money and your money flowing into their pockets. Shorting creates a very uneven playing field, tilted grossly in favour of the shorters. One would think that some small advantage would be given to buyers who actually pay for shares; instead, the overwhelming advantage is given to sellers, especially shorters. It is far easier to drive a stock price down than to drive it higher. It's as if the brokers view the negative impact on the Exchange and real investors as mere collateral damage in their pursuit of profits from shorters and high-frequency traders. Perhaps they don't realize that if the Exchange is destroyed, there will be no profits for anyone. Shorting has, to use the words of Watergate's Sam Ervin, "no redeeming social value". In short, shorting should be banned completely from the Venture Exchange.