REITs Included On The “No Short” List

SEC Emergency Orders On Short Sales

Although REITs were not explicitly included when the Securities and Exchange Commission initially restricted short-selling of financial institutions, it may come as no surprise that since that time several REITs have appeared on the list of entities covered by the short selling ban. As of the date of this REIT Alert, approximately 14 REITs were included on the no short list.

Initially, on September 18, 2008, the SEC issued an emergency order that, subject to limited exceptions, banned any short sale in the publicly traded securities of 799 financial firms listed in the order. On September 21, 2008, the SEC amended this order to, among other things, modify the list of financial firms subject to the ban. The SEC noted that difficulties with the classification criteria led to the omission of certain financial institutions from the list of financial firms included in the September 18 order. Therefore, the amended order provided that