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.

Every regime draws a line below which positions stay private. The UK includes individual positions of 0.2% or more in its published aggregate. EU markets require private notification to the regulator at 0.1% and public, named disclosure at 0.5%. Australia requires short sellers to report positions from A$100,000 or 0.01% of capital, so ASIC's daily aggregate is close to a complete census. The US has no threshold at all: FINRA's count covers every reported position.

The consequence is that a published percentage means different things in different markets: a near-census in the US and Australia, a floor in the UK and EU.

Read more: Who must disclose?.