On February 7, 2025, the US Securities and Exchange Commission provided a temporary exemption from compliance with Rule 13f-2 under the Securities Exchange Act and the associated Form SHO reporting. Originally, the first Form SHO disclosures were due by February 14, 2025, but the exemption now pushes out the deadline to February 17, 2026 for the January 2026 reporting period.
This extension provides institutional investment managers additional time to adapt to reporting requirements introduced under the SEC’s Short Sale Final Rules, which were finalized in October 2023. The Short Sale Final Rules require certain institutional managers to report short sale-related data within 14 days following month-end, with the SEC subsequently publishing aggregated data in order to promote transparency.
Despite the extension, Acting Chair Mark Uyeda emphasized that while the exemption allows for a smoother compliance transition, the SEC will continue to use its regulatory tools to combat manipulative short selling practices. The delay is intended to ensure that the data collected is accurate and useful to market participants, not to weaken enforcement.
The Investment Company Institute (ICI) had urged the SEC to delay enforcement of the Short Sale Final Rules, citing concerns over the lack of compliance guidance and challenges associated with meeting the fast-approaching deadline. The SEC’s decision effectively grants the relief sought by the ICI. The Short Sale Final Rules remain subject to a litigation challenge.
Read the SEC’s exemptive order and press release.