Disclosure floor

Why published figures understate true short interest where thresholds apply: positions below the threshold exist but are invisible.

A company whose named register shows 3.2% in two disclosed positions may have several more holders each just under 0.5%, none of them visible. The published figure is therefore a lower bound, not a total. The floor matters most in the EU named registers and least in the US and Australia, where reporting has no meaningful threshold.

It also explains a common pattern in the data: a position that appears to vanish has usually been reduced below the threshold rather than closed entirely.

Related terms

Disclosure threshold: The size a position must reach before it becomes publicly visible: 0.2% of capital in the UK aggregate, 0.5% named in EU markets, close to everything in Australia.

Named register: The EU-style publication model: each individual net short position of 0.5% or more of share capital is published with the position holder's name.