Wall Street's top regulator on Tuesday said it has tightened the timeline for investors to disclose 5% ownership stakes in companies they intend to control, shortening the allowed window from 10 calendar days to five business days, Reuters reported. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's changes mark an update to half-century-old regulations that officials said have not kept pace with advances in market technology, SEC officials said. "In our fast-paced markets, it shouldn't take 10 days for the public to learn about an attempt to change or influence control of a public company," SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. The SEC proposal, first made public in 2022, initially angered some activist investors who claimed that having to step forward sooner could make it unprofitable to build the ownership positions they need for successful takeover campaigns. The SEC is also currently seeking to force Tesla CEO Elon Musk to give evidence in the agency's investigation of his takeover of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in which officials say Musk may have made such disclosures late. As adopted, the rule also shortens the disclosure deadline for certain institutional investors to 45 days from the end of the quarter in which their ownership stake surpasses 5%. Previously, the deadline was 45 days from the end of the calendar year.
