I think we might get our answer - at least a partial answer - as to Van Eck by 2/10. If you look at very last sentence of 2nd paragraph below - amendments to 13G are required after 10th day after close of month for passive holders holding in excess of 10% - and as of Dec '12, Van Eck was over 10%. That will probably be the last time they are required to file, but at least we'd by and large have confirmation of what the largest holder is doing - assuming they started liquidation in those final days of Jan - and it's really hard to imagine given the size of some of those large prints that went through back to back to back that it wasn't the 70 million share holder involved. I'd also think that a 70 million share holder - 68 mm, whatver - is relatively price insensitive down here - at .015 you get 1 million, at .005 you get 350k - relative to what was put in here - that delta is not very material - I'd think the manager is focused on putting as much distance as humanly possible between GBG and his quarterly investor disclosures - after all, it's not like it's the managers' money
What is required under Section 13(g)?
Section 13(g) is very similar to Section 13(d). However, the requirements of Section 13(g) are less burdensome because Section 13(g) is designed to require reporting by qualified institutional investors and passive investors which do not raise the types of concerns underlying Section 13(d). Under this section, reporting entities must file Schedule 13G, which is very similar to Schedule 13D but requires less information and, in most cases, must only be updated on an annual basis. Schedule 13G must be filed when a qualified institutional investor exceeds 5% of a class of outstanding registered equity securities provided they hold the securities due to their normal course of business and not to affect change or influence control of the issuer. Schedule 13G is actually combined with Schedule 13D.
An investment advisor registered with either a state or the SEC could be considered a qualified institutional investor and more likely subject to Section 13(g) as opposed to Section 13(d). A passive investor would be a person or entity that trades for its own account and does not fall within the definition of qualified institutional investor, e.g. broker/dealer, investment advisor, or insurance company. Schedule 13G must be filed within 45 days of the end of the calendar year in which the qualified institutional investor exceeds the 5% threshold. Going forward, amendments are required on an annual basis. Amendments are also required within 10 days after the end of a month in which beneficial ownership exceeds 10% or more and within 10 days after the end of a month when ownership increases or decreases by at least 5%.
