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Naked, Short and Greedy: Wall Street's Failure to Deliver
Rigged financial markets and hopeless under-regulation on Wall Street are not new problems. In this book, Susanne Trimbath gives a sobering account of naked short selling, the failure to settle, and her efforts over decades, trying to get this fixed. Twenty-five years ago, Trimbath was working “backstage at Wall Street” when a group of corporate trust specialists told her about a problem in shareholder voting rights. When she went to senior management at Depository Trust Company (DTC), then and still the largest securities depository in the world, they brushed it off saying, “You can’t balance the world.” Ten years later, a lawyer from Texas would tell her that the same problem was about to blow up the financial Wall Street brokers are using short sales and fails to deliver to grab the assets of American entrepreneurs. This is a cautionary tale. What started as a regulatory failure turned into a regulatory crisis. Shareholder democracy is in shambles. The institutions that were established to correct a problem of trade settlement failures have instead exacerbated the problem. Global financial markets may not survive what comes next.
404 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 2, 2021
87 people are currently reading
310 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 20, 2021
$GME is just the latest and most visible example of a (blatant, egregious, rampant) fraud that has been going on for decades, as described by Dr. Trimbath in this book.
The rich are screwing over the non-rich.
America, lets change that.
The rich are screwing over the non-rich.
America, lets change that.
September 11, 2022
At this point if you don't believe the entire stock market is at best a casino and at worst a scheme designed to siphon money from the working class you're either ignorant or uninformed. When the players are constantly caught wrongdoing and then fined pennies on their ill-gotten dollars by the very entities set up to protect investors there is an obvious problem. When people such as Trimbath can show you with relative ease, in black and white, that rules are regularly written around crime rather than to correct crime there is an obvious problem.
In short (pun, mutha fucka, DO. YOU. SPEAK. IT?) our stock market is just as corrupt and broken as our thieving, inept government, our crank out the good little zombies educational system, our oil needs democracy military and our respect my barely trained authori-ti police state.
It enrages me to know that the same issues that caused the '08 crash were bandaid'd and kicked down the road as a problem for the future. Not because it was unfixable, but because the people enforcing the rules are the same criminals that caused the issues. Now the future knocks on our door, but the problem has snowballed and we're all going to feel it even more this time.
What I'd give to turn Trimbath loose on the stock market with unlimited power.
Narrated by Trimbath herself. Normally this is a no-no and while I wouldn't recommend she take up a career in narration, with this subject matter I don't think anyone could have done a better job.
In short (pun, mutha fucka, DO. YOU. SPEAK. IT?) our stock market is just as corrupt and broken as our thieving, inept government, our crank out the good little zombies educational system, our oil needs democracy military and our respect my barely trained authori-ti police state.
It enrages me to know that the same issues that caused the '08 crash were bandaid'd and kicked down the road as a problem for the future. Not because it was unfixable, but because the people enforcing the rules are the same criminals that caused the issues. Now the future knocks on our door, but the problem has snowballed and we're all going to feel it even more this time.
What I'd give to turn Trimbath loose on the stock market with unlimited power.
Narrated by Trimbath herself. Normally this is a no-no and while I wouldn't recommend she take up a career in narration, with this subject matter I don't think anyone could have done a better job.
October 7, 2025
This book appears, at first glance, to delve into an obscure topic (Naked Short Selling) of potential interest to a very limited number of readers--but this somewhat opaque phenomena already represents a largely hidden "sinkhole" affecting perhaps most small investors in this country. I highly recommend this book as an excellent overview of the issue with straightforward explanations of the mechanics and ramifications of Naked Short Selling by a noted expert on the subject who is appalled by widespread indifference to the issue even among ostensible watchdogs.
Selling something that one does not have in their possession can be justified as a pre-payment plus finder's fee with the legal expectation that (a) the desired shares are indeed acquired and registered in the new owner's name in a reasonable amount of time or (b) the pre-paid funds and finder's fee are reimbursed in a reasonable amount of time. However, Clearing and Settlement services for the New York Stock Exchange are provided by the Deposit Trust & Clearing Corporation, which permits generous delays to clear Failure to Deliver and imposes no real oversight or meaningful penalties for client-reported breeches of trust. The vast majority of investors are for their part not in any position to know the whether the trades on their books correspond to reality because lack of effective regulation means that brokers are free to credit client accounts with shares that have not been purchased while simply pocketing the fees for investment on their own behalf. To make matters worse, civil trials in federal court for matters relating to finance are restricted to circuits in the area around New York City, where financial interests wield outsized political and social influence.
The result is that--even disregarding counterfeit shares--there are considerably more shares in the system than have been issued, which depresses stock price, and these shares (whether real shares or phantom shares) confer voting privileges, allowing manipulation of a company's leadership or direction, with the result that the Financial Infrastructure of the United States is dangerous vulnerable.
Selling something that one does not have in their possession can be justified as a pre-payment plus finder's fee with the legal expectation that (a) the desired shares are indeed acquired and registered in the new owner's name in a reasonable amount of time or (b) the pre-paid funds and finder's fee are reimbursed in a reasonable amount of time. However, Clearing and Settlement services for the New York Stock Exchange are provided by the Deposit Trust & Clearing Corporation, which permits generous delays to clear Failure to Deliver and imposes no real oversight or meaningful penalties for client-reported breeches of trust. The vast majority of investors are for their part not in any position to know the whether the trades on their books correspond to reality because lack of effective regulation means that brokers are free to credit client accounts with shares that have not been purchased while simply pocketing the fees for investment on their own behalf. To make matters worse, civil trials in federal court for matters relating to finance are restricted to circuits in the area around New York City, where financial interests wield outsized political and social influence.
The result is that--even disregarding counterfeit shares--there are considerably more shares in the system than have been issued, which depresses stock price, and these shares (whether real shares or phantom shares) confer voting privileges, allowing manipulation of a company's leadership or direction, with the result that the Financial Infrastructure of the United States is dangerous vulnerable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2022
If you are a stakeholder in the U.S. economy or its capital market, or just want to understand why problems such as the January 2021 Robinhood Fiasco occurred and is left unfixed, read Naked Short and Greedy.
Dr. Trimbath identifies a huge problem in the American Capital Market: the short, loans, and fails that plague the centralized clearing and settlement system. She explains how and why this exists and persists.
It's not surprising that as the problems in the American centralized capital markets grow there is a surge in the DeFi movement and Web 3 era, gaining greater traction and occupying more space in peoples' minds.
Dr. Trimbath identifies a huge problem in the American Capital Market: the short, loans, and fails that plague the centralized clearing and settlement system. She explains how and why this exists and persists.
It's not surprising that as the problems in the American centralized capital markets grow there is a surge in the DeFi movement and Web 3 era, gaining greater traction and occupying more space in peoples' minds.
November 28, 2022
Dr Susanne Trimbath excellently explains some of the mechanics around some very serious problems in the US financial markets.
The problem is described as a 3-way problem of:
-Naked short selling
-Stock lending
-Failures to deliver
each of these 3 is a necessary piece of the problem
Many companies have suffered from this predatory wall street behavior in the past, and it continues to this day.
As explained in this book, investors can get real ownership of their shares by using the Direct Registration System (DRS).
One of the companies that this criminal behavior has been egregiously perpetrated against is GameStop.
Investors of GameStop have learned, through information provided in this book and elsewhere, that they can solve the problem being perpetrated against their company by directly registering their shares using DRS.
Investors of GameStop made a website that further explains the situation: www.drsgme.org
Another great resource created by investors of GameStop is www.computershared.net. This website shows the up-to-date breakdown of current share ownership of GameStop including DRS figures, information that is not typically published in financial media.
As of July 30 2022, per GameStop's quarterly financial report, there were 71,300,000 shares directly registered with GameStop's transfer agent Computershare, around 23.5% of the entire company.
According to www.computershared.net, as of Nov 28 2022, it is estimated that approximately 91,300,000 shares have been directly registered, or about 30% of the entire company.
GameStop will produce the official quarterly DRS numbers in a few weeks concluding on the date of October 31, 2022, and will report that some number of shares, roughly 87 million by these estimates, will have been registered by that date.
This is truly a remarkable situation and it has been made possible because of the efforts of this author, Dr. Susanne Trimbath, to help shed light on the nature of criminal financial behavior that is hurting real companies, their employees, and their investors.
DRS is giving power back to the investor.
The problem is described as a 3-way problem of:
-Naked short selling
-Stock lending
-Failures to deliver
each of these 3 is a necessary piece of the problem
Many companies have suffered from this predatory wall street behavior in the past, and it continues to this day.
As explained in this book, investors can get real ownership of their shares by using the Direct Registration System (DRS).
One of the companies that this criminal behavior has been egregiously perpetrated against is GameStop.
Investors of GameStop have learned, through information provided in this book and elsewhere, that they can solve the problem being perpetrated against their company by directly registering their shares using DRS.
Investors of GameStop made a website that further explains the situation: www.drsgme.org
Another great resource created by investors of GameStop is www.computershared.net. This website shows the up-to-date breakdown of current share ownership of GameStop including DRS figures, information that is not typically published in financial media.
As of July 30 2022, per GameStop's quarterly financial report, there were 71,300,000 shares directly registered with GameStop's transfer agent Computershare, around 23.5% of the entire company.
According to www.computershared.net, as of Nov 28 2022, it is estimated that approximately 91,300,000 shares have been directly registered, or about 30% of the entire company.
GameStop will produce the official quarterly DRS numbers in a few weeks concluding on the date of October 31, 2022, and will report that some number of shares, roughly 87 million by these estimates, will have been registered by that date.
This is truly a remarkable situation and it has been made possible because of the efforts of this author, Dr. Susanne Trimbath, to help shed light on the nature of criminal financial behavior that is hurting real companies, their employees, and their investors.
DRS is giving power back to the investor.
June 21, 2023
For those who seek a better understanding of stock trade clearing and settlement this is a must-read. Dr. Trimbath's qualifications and experience are undeniable, and have given her a deep understanding of "how the sausage gets made" in the US stock market. Through the story of her career and several real world examples, Dr. T pulls back the wool so carefully placed over the general public eyes and exposes the ugly state of the markets today.
We live in a moment where the stock market of our parents and grandparents no longer exists. It has been hijacked by corrupt institutions which have had ample time and influence to bend the rules in their favor. Failure to deliver shares is standard practice in the industry, brokers are happy to take your money while never having to ensure that what you paid for was actually delivered. Phantom shares are created at will and used by bad actors to influence price movement and corporate governance to their benefit. Dr. T provides example after example using publicly available information and primary source documentation.
The SEC has fallen victim to regulatory capture, Congress cannot or will not act. Wall Street is pillaging the world and siphoning generational wealth away from EVERYONE, and they are doing so in broad daylight while getting a slap on the wrist when they get caught. It is reprehensible.
Our only hope that any of this changes, the only way we fix this and leave a better world for our children, begins with more average Americans understanding the core issues. The system must change, bad actors can be confronted but until the system changes more will just take their place.
We live in a moment where the stock market of our parents and grandparents no longer exists. It has been hijacked by corrupt institutions which have had ample time and influence to bend the rules in their favor. Failure to deliver shares is standard practice in the industry, brokers are happy to take your money while never having to ensure that what you paid for was actually delivered. Phantom shares are created at will and used by bad actors to influence price movement and corporate governance to their benefit. Dr. T provides example after example using publicly available information and primary source documentation.
The SEC has fallen victim to regulatory capture, Congress cannot or will not act. Wall Street is pillaging the world and siphoning generational wealth away from EVERYONE, and they are doing so in broad daylight while getting a slap on the wrist when they get caught. It is reprehensible.
Our only hope that any of this changes, the only way we fix this and leave a better world for our children, begins with more average Americans understanding the core issues. The system must change, bad actors can be confronted but until the system changes more will just take their place.
November 15, 2022
The book does a great job exposing some of the flaws within the DTC clearing system for stock trades. The author effectively demonstrates the significant problem with failure to delivers that occur with stock trading and the complicity of brokers in sharing in this problem. It certainly is eye opening and makes you question the stability of our markets and the financial stability of our large institutional brokers.
The book however does have some grammatical errors and some of the evidence at times appears to be sparse (Dr. T often will source herself or a paper she has written) and her biggest example of brokers failing in their fiduciary duty to provide shares happened with a company with blatant corruption and fraud (CMKM). Dr. T also at times will go on rants about particular people who did not trust her or talking about democratic conspiracy theories that can be off putting to the reader.
Overall I think it is informative and I wish more people would talk about the significant problem of FTDs in stock trading but will need to read other sources before fully trusting all of her underlying theories.
The book however does have some grammatical errors and some of the evidence at times appears to be sparse (Dr. T often will source herself or a paper she has written) and her biggest example of brokers failing in their fiduciary duty to provide shares happened with a company with blatant corruption and fraud (CMKM). Dr. T also at times will go on rants about particular people who did not trust her or talking about democratic conspiracy theories that can be off putting to the reader.
Overall I think it is informative and I wish more people would talk about the significant problem of FTDs in stock trading but will need to read other sources before fully trusting all of her underlying theories.
January 19, 2023
Everyone knows Wall Street is crooked, owns government officials and has captured the regulatory agencies that are supposed to be monitoring them. But Trimbath gets it. She fights through the purposefully opaque and convoluted mess to try and teach the reader, who already knows, exactly how crooked the entire system is.
I have nothing but respect for this powerful woman and her work. This book was dense yet eye opening. I think it is a worthwhile read if you have any interest even the rudimentary mechanisms behind fair markets, where your pension money goes, the Occupy Wall Street movement, or macroeconomics in general. The picture painted is bleak but realistic.
My only complaint is that although I learned a lot from this, it only gives the smallest moisture to an already incredibly dry subject. I don't expect that anyone without interest in macroeconomics and some basic market knowledge would be very engaged.
I have nothing but respect for this powerful woman and her work. This book was dense yet eye opening. I think it is a worthwhile read if you have any interest even the rudimentary mechanisms behind fair markets, where your pension money goes, the Occupy Wall Street movement, or macroeconomics in general. The picture painted is bleak but realistic.
My only complaint is that although I learned a lot from this, it only gives the smallest moisture to an already incredibly dry subject. I don't expect that anyone without interest in macroeconomics and some basic market knowledge would be very engaged.
September 15, 2022
Dr. Trimbath sheds light on the failure and fraud of Wall Street. The rules and regulations that sound serious and you thought were putting people in check, are actually, by design or incompetence, giant loopholes wrapped in corporate sounding words.
Must read
Must read
October 8, 2022
$GME $AMC $APE $HYMC $BBIG $BBBY $NOK $ROOT $BB $TSLA $PRTY
To the f-ing moon.
(they are so many other companies like them.)
Also this book is well written and it's a great jumping point for a deeper understanding of Wall Street and regulatory institutions they work with.
To the f-ing moon.
(they are so many other companies like them.)
Also this book is well written and it's a great jumping point for a deeper understanding of Wall Street and regulatory institutions they work with.
July 17, 2024
There is a black hole in the financial system.
Reading this book feels like lifting the curtain on an INSANE mess at the heart of the financial system, a mess remains unaddressed.
Reading this book feels like lifting the curtain on an INSANE mess at the heart of the financial system, a mess remains unaddressed.
January 12, 2023
Before you invest a dime in any market, read this. The stock market is riddled with fraud, manipulation and crime. Think you buy a stock? Not always. Many times you get a an “IOU” and you don’t know it. The underlying government and Non government regulatory organizations look the other way.
In hindsight, I would never have gotten involved with stocks traded on US markets which allow selling without actually ever owning the stock.
Overall, I believe the stock market has been taken over my organized crime which use “Madoff laws” to screw you.
In hindsight, I would never have gotten involved with stocks traded on US markets which allow selling without actually ever owning the stock.
Overall, I believe the stock market has been taken over my organized crime which use “Madoff laws” to screw you.
March 8, 2023
"Naked, Short and Greedy: Wall Street's Failure to Deliver" by Susanne Trimbath is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of the controversial practice of naked short selling and its impact on the financial industry. Trimbath argues that this practice, which involves selling shares of a stock without actually borrowing or owning them, has led to market manipulation, fraud, and economic instability.
One of the strengths of this book is Trimbath's extensive research and in-depth analysis of the history and mechanics of naked short selling. She provides a comprehensive overview of the regulatory landscape surrounding this practice and the challenges facing regulators in addressing its abuses.
Trimbath also offers a nuanced and insightful critique of the culture of greed and risk-taking that pervades Wall Street. She explores the incentives and pressures that drive financial professionals to engage in unethical and illegal practices, and the systemic failures that allow these practices to persist.
The writing style of the book is clear and engaging, making it accessible to readers with a range of backgrounds and interests. Trimbath has a talent for presenting complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand and engaging.
Overall, "Naked, Short and Greedy" is an important and timely book that sheds light on a little-understood but critically important issue in the financial industry. Trimbath's careful analysis and insightful critique make this book a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of finance, regulation, and ethics.
One of the strengths of this book is Trimbath's extensive research and in-depth analysis of the history and mechanics of naked short selling. She provides a comprehensive overview of the regulatory landscape surrounding this practice and the challenges facing regulators in addressing its abuses.
Trimbath also offers a nuanced and insightful critique of the culture of greed and risk-taking that pervades Wall Street. She explores the incentives and pressures that drive financial professionals to engage in unethical and illegal practices, and the systemic failures that allow these practices to persist.
The writing style of the book is clear and engaging, making it accessible to readers with a range of backgrounds and interests. Trimbath has a talent for presenting complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand and engaging.
Overall, "Naked, Short and Greedy" is an important and timely book that sheds light on a little-understood but critically important issue in the financial industry. Trimbath's careful analysis and insightful critique make this book a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of finance, regulation, and ethics.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews