More on the SEC and Trade Secrets

Back in 2006 and 2007 we ran a series of posts (the first one here) concerning hedge fund manager Phillip Goldstein whose firm, Bulldog Investors, was challenging the SEC’s Rule 13f which required him to publicly disclose the fund’s holdings when they crossed a certain threshold.

Mr. Goldstein was of the view that the constitution and/or trade secrets law ought to protect him from such disclosures.

Now the issue has come up again, albeit in a slightly different context of SEC waivers granted to certain investors, like Warren Buffet, while they amass positions in particular stocks. The New York Times has a column on the practice today.

The obvious questions are: first, do some investors get special treatment when it comes to non-disclosure waivers, and, second, can the exceptions effectively swallow the rule?