BlackRock-associated company shorts Trump stock before shooting incident
Date
7/22/2024 4:50:59 AM
(MENAFN) A Texas-based investment firm, Austin Private Wealth LLC, has denied allegations that it engaged in short selling trump media & Technology Group shares ahead of the recent failed assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump. The firm has claimed that the filing for a put option on 12 million shares, which sparked controversy, was the result of a clerical error rather than any malicious intent.
Short selling is a trading strategy where an investor borrows shares they believe will decrease in value, sells them, and then buys them back later at a lower price to return to the lender, pocketing the difference. This technique is often used to profit from anticipated declines in stock prices.
The controversy erupted when Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, during which an assassin attempted to shoot him. The attack narrowly missed, injuring two people and killing one audience member. The day before the shooting, Austin Private Wealth LLC had filed a document with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a put option on 12 million shares of Trump Media & Technology Group. This move appeared to be a bet on the stock’s price falling, which could be interpreted as a prediction of a significant drop in value should Trump be harmed or killed.
The situation was further complicated by screenshots obtained from a Bloomberg terminal showing the firm's put option, which later vanished. Some observers noted that Austin Private Wealth had substantial investments in funds managed by Vanguard and BlackRock, companies that have connections with prominent financial figures like George Soros and the Rothschild family. This association intensified scrutiny, particularly since the alleged shooter had previously appeared in a commercial for BlackRock. The investment giant subsequently removed the ad and condemned the shooting as "abhorrent" and "awful."
The investment firm maintains that the filing was an administrative mistake and rejects any insinuations of wrongdoing.
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