Today marks the Tenth Anniversary of the first ever publication of a activist short sale research report by a National Association of Securities Dealers ("NASD") and Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") member firm, or any other professional organization advocating that investors avoid the purchase of a certain stock due to serious questions about management's representation and conduct.

Yet ten years later, the practice of activist short-selling does not want for headlines and still manages to stir controversy and impassioned debate, this is despite the material benefit to society and extraordinary returns that Asensio & Company, Inc.'s activist short sales generated. Profiting from selling a stock short is certainly not a new way of making money, but publicly advocating a short position as pioneered ten years ago by Manuel P. Asensio of Asensio & Company, Inc. is still a novel enough concept that Mark Cuban has made headlines (click on the following links to read about Mark Cuban's short selling venture: Cuban's Maverick Stock Selling Site, Cuban Revolution: Short Selling By Journalists, and So What Do You Think: Should I Be Shorting Stocks?) by announcing the development of his website sharesleuth.com that aims to do just that.

Mr. Cuban has stated that he plans on working with veteran St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Christopher Carey on sharesleuth.com, and that he hopes to profit from information gathered through Mr. Carey's research for the website. Mr. Cuban's announcement of the launch of sharesleuth.com was met with intense media speculation and has generated a renewed controversy in the practice of activist short selling especially in a time in which many would prefer to quietly hold a short position rather than engaging the media as a platform to make the general investing public informed of corporate malfeasance.

Mr. Cuban's announcement of the launch of stocksleuth.com is also of a very timely matter as not only does it coincide with the tenth anniversary of Asensio & Company, Inc.'s creation of activist short selling but the announcement also comes as the Senate Committee on the Judiciary is scheduled to hold a hearing on Wednesday June 28, 2006 titled “Hedge Funds and Independent Analysts: How Independent are Their Relationships?”, which was formerly named "Examining Short Selling Activities of Hedge Funds and Independent Analysts."

Whether Mr. Cuban's latest endeavor will be a successful and profitable one only time will tell. What can be ascertained on this tenth anniversary of the debut of activist short selling, especially in light of recent lawsuits attempting to erroneously portray short selling as a colluded and deceitful attempt to drive down the value of otherwise fiscally and ethically sound companies, is that now more than ever it is crucial that the necessary function that short selling plays in an orderly and fair market should be underscored.

It is a shame that despite the ten years that have passed since the inception of activist short selling, Mr. Cuban still faces some of the same difficulties faced by Asensio & Company, Inc. ten years ago. One can only imagine how much more difficult it was to be the first. Hopefully activist short selling is a successful venture for Mr. Cuban and his work will contribute to the essential regulatory force that short selling is in a well-ordained market.