Price Manipulation on AIM

AnotherJoe

Reed_Richards wrote: »

You're a bit more explicit at the second attempt.

Short selling can bring down the share price temporarily only. So unless you panic and sell (or have an automated stop loss that does it for you) there is no permanent harm done, at least as far as I can see.

Short selling can also be anticipating a decline in the share price. After all that's the idea, if shares today are a £1 and I have reason to believe they will be 50p in a years time I can sell shares I don't own today at £1 and buy them back for 50p in a year.
So, it's up to a holder to determine if a drop caused by short selling is temporary or part of a long term decline. I've certainly held on through major short selling and come out smiling on the other side.
There are many short sellers attacking Tesla right now for example many of them using fraudulent methods to try to discredit the company and get the shares down to a point where they can cash out and make a profit v. So it's not just piddly AIM shares that can come under attack. Whether the OPs mysterious company is the recipient of such dirty tricks or is just a company witha declining share price, obviously no way to know and the non-useful answer to his new (and very different) question is "yes".
( P.s as a shareholder not a member of a "shareholders association" , whatever that is. )

Reed_Richards

AnotherJoe wrote: »

So it's not just piddly AIM shares that can come under attack.

Indeed no. But the thing about piddly illiquid companies is that it only takes a small volume of trades to move the price.

On the other hand, how would you actually go about short-selling? You could sell shares you don't have but you would have to buy them back within the 2 day settlement period. Perhaps you could borrow some shares but it would surely be hard to find a lender for a small obscure company. Or can you buy CFDs for AIM-listed companies; I don't think so.

Thrugelmir

Headancer wrote: »

I have an interest in a company making millions each week where there appears to be clear evidence of colusuion to bring the price down.

Then keep buying the shares. As if you say "the company is making millions every week" than there's nothing wrong with the company's financial position. On the surface at least. As shareholders in Patisserie Valerie found to their cost. Likewise those in Conviviality PLC.

Most likely to be a substantial shareholder offloading a line of stock. If the share price is dipping. As will take time for the stock to be digested.

I hold a number of AIM stocks. Share prices do gyrate for no apparent reason.

Masomnia

I've held AIM stocks before, made a bit on some lost a bit on others; nothing at the moment.

The forums are interesting, from a psychological perspective. When you've bought into a share financially as well as intellectually and even emotionally it's easy to see the upsides and minimise the downsides. I remember buying a mining stock 10 years ago and we were all thinking along the lines of how amazing the proven copper reserves were, once we get x y and z licence the share will fly etc etc and it never did. I still occasionally check the price to see if it rocketed Cut my losses on that one. But of course because some investors are so convinced they're the next Warren Buffet and they've found this amazing value stock it's just a matter of time, and if the price falls it must be manipulation. What other explanation could there be?

AnotherJoe

Reed_Richards wrote: »

Indeed no. But the thing about piddly illiquid companies is that it only takes a small volume of trades to move the price.

On the other hand, how would you actually go about short-selling? You could sell shares you don't have but you would have to buy them back within the 2 day settlement period. Perhaps you could borrow some shares but it would surely be hard to find a lender for a small obscure company. Or can you buy CFDs for AIM-listed companies; I don't think so.

Its easy enough on major markets.

No idea how it happens on AIM never traded on it. Perhaps the OP can say, given he has 'clear evidence of collusion", and has stated there is short selling happening, he must know.

chucknorris

Afraid_of_Kittens wrote: »

I once knew a person who put £500k in Halifax shares because the dividends paid out were so good. He went on a 3 month round the world holiday when he returned his shares had dropped in value by 90%. Flbbargasted we were upon hearing this and far too late to tell him to not put all his eggs in one basket.

About 2 years ago, I invested just under that amount (it was all of my SIPP and ISA) in British land shares. I did it for a number of reasons (but mainly higher dividends and adding a REIT to my portfolio at the same time as starting to sell my investment property). But even though it was nowhere near everything, I did become a bit uncomfortable with being so heavily invested in a single company share and its volatility, so after about a year when it was about 4% up I switched it back into a tracker. Of course it then continued to rise, but it is lower again now, and I was happy at the time with the price that I sold it at.

noclaf

I got burned on AIM but in some ways that experience has educated me on the basics such as not putting all your eggs in one basket as mentioned already.
I made and lost a fair whack investing in AIM oil explorers..wouldn't touch with a bargepole now however I would invest again on AIM if I felt I could take on the risk.
Apart from buying and selling excessively (and losing money on charges + missed potential gains etc) my only real mistake was investing above my actual risk tolerance.
I now invest into a vanguard tracker monthly and that works a lot better for me.
There will likely be price manipulation and collusion occuring but feel this is old news .. unfortunately it will continue to happen as I think it's practically impossible for the regulators to fully stamp them all out...one can only hope!

Thrugelmir

Masomnia wrote: »

But of course because some investors are so convinced they're the next Warren Buffet and they've found this amazing value stock it's just a matter of time, and if the price falls it must be manipulation.

The lack of research into AIM deters many investors. From fund managers perspective the market capitalisation is often far too low to build a meaningfull stake. Given the constraints they operate under.

Kentish_Dave

Headancer wrote: »

Can we stick with the premise of the original question rather than froth.

For the "hard of understanding" as we appear to have mr Thicko contributing, ill rephrase.

Is anybody a member of a shareholder association where a PART of their investment has been affected by short selling ?

Given your posts on LIBOR, and inability to understand what went on there you really don’t get to call anyone else thicko.

Maybe delete your inane and / or idiotic previous posts before slinging the insults.

Malthusian

Kentish_Dave wrote: »

Maybe delete your inane and / or idiotic previous posts before slinging the insults.

Wouldn't have been much need if someone hadn't just bumped the thread - they could have been allowed to languish forgotten on page 200-odd of the forum.