2016 has been a bumpy ride for WisdomTree [profile], and now the Financial Times is highlighting a dubious honor for Jono Steinberg and his team.

Jonathan Steinberg WisdomTree Investments, Inc. Chief Executive Officer, President

The New York City-based, publicly-traded ETF shop is now "the most-shorted asset manager", Chris Flood and Aliya Ram of the FT report, per data from research house Markit. WisdomTree is also the largest publicly traded, pure-play ETF shop in the business.

The shorting comes as WisdomTree has suffered big net outflows lately, $10.1 billion in Q1 and Q2 combined. Its AUM has fallen to $38.7 billion, the FT points out, and its share price has fallen by about a third year-to-date to $10.42.

The "most-shorted" revelation comes a month and a half after news outlets picked up on an analyst report, from Surinder Thind of Jefferies, about who might be be good fit acquirers for WisdomTree. Thind wrote that "continued negative growth increases the likelihood of the company becoming an acquisition target" because "it's simply a matter of price." And, as the FT notes, WisdomTree's share price has taken some lumps lately. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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