The chief executives of Australia have been warned and no one is safe. A new, more aggressive way of short selling has hit the local sharemarket, and it's a warning that US-style activist investing has arrived in Australia.
This time round it's Frank Wilson from TFS Corporation in the firing line, but anyone could be next.
In a carefully planned, stage-managed mission calculated to do as much damage as possible on day one, short seller Glaucus Research released its latest report on Wednesday and it put sandalwood grower TFS right in the slot.
For a start, it's no coincidence that Glaucus chose Wednesday to reveal it's latest short-selling target.
Formerly known as TFS, the company was rebranded as Quintis on the same day. The company sponsors Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo, who is in Melbourne for the Grand Prix this weekend, and there was a cocktail party on Wednesday night to celebrate the new name.
What better way to spoil everything by telling the world the company is nothing but a Ponzi scheme, worthless and facing bankruptcy.
Cop that.
If it's all true, then investors including the Harvard Endowment Fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Church of England Commissioners are going to be wrong.
TFS has been one of the most shorted stocks on the ASX for at least a month and is already down 21 per cent so far this calendar year.
For years now, the deeds of high-profile activist fund managers such as Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman have put CEOs in the US on notice, but until now it hasn't really played out here.
But these two old hands have inspired a new generation of activist investors who will seek out and short sell suitable targets anywhere.
For sure short selling has become more of a feature on the ASX over the past few years, and so far the hedge funds that practice the dark art have been very good at it.
But to date there hasn't been the carefully orchestrated public relations exercise that Glaucus Research undertook.
