Challenge: Rubus has not provided support for the Boards of listed companies in 7 Short & Distort assignments
- Shorting stock is legal, voicing a valid opinion in investment research is also legal, but in a campaign to manipulate stock price both these legal activities are combined so that a PR Campaign to undermine confidence in either the accuracy of accounting records, or the competence of the management team of a Target Stock, is launched shortly after the Stock Shorter shorting the Target Stock.
- Proving criminal intent to manipulate the market is difficult to prove, because the Stock Shorter(s) and the PR Campaigners hide conceal their collusion.
- The Stock Shorter and their PR Campaigner partners will have had six months to select the Target Stock, and plan a detailed and carefully choreographed adverse media campaign designed to destroy value. The Board of the Board of Targeted Stock will have less than a week to defend the value of their stock.
- Legal and PR advisors to the Board of Targeted Stock offer different toolkits with conflicting priorities – this means both will act in the best interests of their client, but are likely to offer conflicting advice on the company’s best response.
Outcome:
We have progressed from providing threat intelligence to taking the key advisory role, because after 7 engagements, we have a better idea of the defensive strategies that have worked, versus those that have failed.