No, Austin Private Wealth did not short 12 million shares of Trump Media on July 12, 2024

After a gunman tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump July 13, social media users looked into trading activity of Trump Media stock and said there was something suspicious.

"Austin Private Wealth shorted 12 million shares of Donald Trump stock on July 12," a man in a July 21 Instagram post said. 

In a July 18 Instagram post, a woman said, "Why did the firm Austin Private Wealth take a huge bet against Donald Trump's stock the day before the assassination attempt? The firm just happens to be majority held by BlackRock and Vanguard."

(Screenshot from Instagram)

But legal filings and a statement from the firm showed that the number of shares and the date cited in this claim were inaccurate.

Austin Private Wealth is an investment advisory company based in Austin, Texas. Securities and Exchange Commission records show that the firm filed a July 12 report that did show a "put" amount of 12 million on Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., or DJT. (DJT is the company’s stock ticker symbol and the former president’s initials). The report said the put was for the quarter that ended June 30 — several days before the assassination attempt. In a July 17 statement, Austin Private Wealth said the July 12 report reflected its positions on June 28.

A Business Insider article defined put options as "contracts that allow investors to sell a specific number of securities at a predetermined price within a specified timeframe." Traders typically buy them when they expect the stock’s underlying asset to fall, according to Business Insider.

Buying put options is similar, but different from short selling or shorting, where "investors sell borrowed stocks in the hope of buying them back for a lower price."

Austin Private Wealth’s statement said the amount of shorted Trump Media shares reported on the July 12 filing was "incorrect" and that it was amended when the error was found. 

"No client of APW holds, or has ever held, a put on DJT in the quantity initially reported. The correct holding amount was 12 contracts, or 1,200 shares — not 12 million shares, as was filed in error," its statement read. "We deeply regret this error and the concern it has caused, especially at such a fraught moment for our nation."

The financial advisory company added that a third-party vendor increased the number of shares by a multiple of 10,000 for DJT and other contracts, an error that was not caught before the filing. 

Featured Fact-check

X posts

stated on September 20, 2024 in an X post

First lady Jill Biden led a Cabinet meeting for President Joe Biden and her signature appears on presidential stationery.

The report was amended July 16, but the Trump Media put options were absent in the amended filing. In a published FAQ, the company said "the total holdings of the underlying stock and related options were below the de minimis amount (or threshold) for actual reporting" after the error was corrected.

Securities and Exchange Commission rules state that for Form 13F, the one Austin Private Wealth filed, a manager may choose not to report holdings of less than 10,000 shares. 

The company told PolitiFact in an email that it did not short-sell or buy put options of Trump Media shares "between June 28 and July 13."

In response to claims that Austin Private Wealth is "majority-held" by BlackRock and Vanguard, the company told PolitiFact, "Austin Private Wealth is a firm owned solely by individual partners based in Austin — BlackRock and Vanguard are not and have never been shareholders."

Austin Private Wealth did not short 12 million shares of Trump Media the day before the former president was targeted in an assassination attempt. We rate that claim False.

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.