09th September 2020
Analysis reveals top 10 most shorted UK stocks and most active fund managers for shorting
New analysis(1) from ETF provider GraniteShares, which offers a range of 3x short and 3x leveraged ETPs on popular UK and US stocks, reveals that as of 7th September 2020, Hammerson PLC, the property and investment company, was the most shorted UK listed company. 14% of its stock was held short by 11 investment firms, with Caxton Europe having the largest short position with 4.33% of the company’s shares.
The next most shorted UK listed companies were Metro Bank PLC, Sainsbury (J) PLC, and Premier Oil PLC, where the respective reported short positions were 8.68%, 8.39% and 8.15%. In terms of reported short interest in companies tracked by GraniteShares ETPs, three companies featured: Vodafone Group Plc (4.02% short interest), Rolls-Royce Holding Plc (1.66%), Lloyds Banking Group Plc (0.51%)
Company
Percentage of stock held short
Number of funds shorting the stock
HAMMERSON PLC
14.04
11
METRO BANK PLC
8.68
5
SAINSBURY (J) PLC
8.39
7
PREMIER OIL PLC
8.15
2
PEARSON PLC
8.13
8
CINEWORLD GROUP
7.99
8
TULLOW OIL PLC
7.53
5
Royal Mail Plc
7.51
6
PETROFAC LTD
6.06
5
TUI AG
5.83
7
Source: FCA, current disclosures as reported on 7 September 2020
In terms of which fund managers had the most short positions on UK listed companies, the analysis reveals BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited had the highest number with 27. This was followed by GLG Partners LP, AQR Capital Management LLC, Citadel Advisors LLC and Marshall Wace LLP with 23, 19 and 17 and 16 short positions respectively.
Reporting entity
Number of short positions
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited
27
GLG Partners LP
23
AQR Capital Management, LLC
19
Citadel Advisors LLC
17
Marshall Wace LLP
16
JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd
14
Citadel Europe LLP
11
Ennismore Fund Management Limited
8
Odey Asset Management LLP
8
Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd
7
Source: FCA, current disclosures as reported on 7 September 2020
Will Rhind, Founder and CEO of GraniteShares, said: “Markets around the world rose in August, which resulted in losses for many short sellers. Indeed, it is estimated that short sellers lost around £420 million on FTSE 100 companies last month. (2)
“However, markets are very volatile at the moment and we have recently seen executives of large listed companies selling off some of their stock, which has resulted in share prices falling.
“Through our single stock leveraged and short ETPs, we offer sophisticated investors the opportunity to go 3 times long or short of a range of FTSE 100 and US tech stocks, a way of obtaining exposure to both the old and new economies. This is reflected in investor interest: the 3x Long Rolls-Royce ETP (3LRR) and both the long and short exposures to Tesla have been among the most popular ETPs over the last few weeks. The 3x Long Tesla ETP (3LTS), which was listed on 2 July at $5, has been as high as $49, before its recent pull back. The ETPs can help sophisticated investors navigate volatile markets and, as with the example of the long Tesla exposure, are a powerful tool to capture price momentum.”
GraniteShares Short and Leveraged Single Stock Daily ETPs on UK companies
Underlying stock
+3x Long
-3x Short
AstraZeneca
3LAZ
3SAZ
BAE Systems
3LBA
3SBA
Barclays
3LBC
3SBC
BP
3LBP
3SBP
Diageo
3LDO
3SDO
Glencore
3LGL
3SGL
Lloyds Banking Group
3LLL
3SLL
Rio Tinto
3LRI
3SRI
Royal Dutch Shell
3LRD
3SRD
Rolls-Royce
3LRR
3SRR
Vodafone
3LVO
3SVO
GraniteShares Short and Leveraged Single Stock Daily ETPs on US technology companies
Underlying stock
+3x Long
-3x Short
Alphabet
3LAL
3SAL
Amazon
3LZN
3SZN
Apple
3LAP
3SAP
3LFB
3SFB
Microsoft
3LMS
3SMS
Netflix
3LNF
3SNF
NVIDIA
3LNV
3SNV
Tesla
3LTS
3STS
Uber
3LUB
3SUB
Capital at risk
-Ends-
Notes to editors:
- GraniteShares analysis of short positions of 0.5% or greater on UK stocks reported to the FCA
- Ortex Analytics
For further information please call Phil Anderson at Perception A on 07767 491 519.
GraniteShares: A brief history
GraniteShares launched in the US in 2016, with an initial focus on shaking up the commodity investment space. Today its offering ranges from low-cost access to gold to high income and disruptive equity investing. GraniteShares is backed by Bain Capital and other well-known ETF investors. The company has offices in New York and London. GraniteShares’ ETFs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and its range of short and leveraged single stock ETPs are listed on London Stock Exchange. GraniteShares’ assets under management stood at US$1,531.8 million / £1,145.8 million on 31 August 2020.
GraniteShares is led by William “Will” Rhind, the founder and CEO, who has specialised in ETFs since 2002. Will is from Aberdeen the ‘Granite City’ and has a strong track-record having built and managed businesses in the ETF industry and worked for major international brands.
In the UK, GraniteShares Limited is an appointed representative of Duff & Phelps Securities Ltd. which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Investing in the new GraniteShares ETP on US tech companies
Those trading GraniteShares new US leverage and inverse ETPs will not need to complete a W-8BEN form (US Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting).
The ETPs can be held in self-select ISAs and SIPPs.
There is no margin requirement and losses cannot exceed the amount invested.
Costs
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