This content is from: Corner Office
Dan David Starts Research Firm Backed by Short-Seller Carson Block
David’s firm, Wolfpack, aims to expose fraud and corporate wrongdoing.
Dan David is turning over a new leaf after losing his bid last year to represent Pennsylvania’s fourth district as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives.
David, a short-seller known for exposing fraud, announced Monday he has started Wolfpack Research, an investigative and due diligence firm backed by Carson Block’s Muddy Waters Capital. Wolfpack seeks to expose fraud and “corporate wrongdoing” through its investment research, according to the announcement.
The firm expects to share its first report, which will focus on a U.S. company, during the week of May 11, a spokesman for Wolfpack said in an email. He said that Wolfpack will research companies globally, focusing on those listed in the U.S.
“With markets hovering at all-time highs, there's a desperate need for more skeptical research and critical voices to balance our financial ecosystem,” David said in the announcement. “Our team digs deep and asks the tough questions, and when we find wrongdoing at companies, we will howl as loudly as we can from the tallest mountain.”
Wolfpack is a nod to the fact that companies often refer to short-sellers as a “pack of wolves,” according to the spokesman. “They’re actually good for the market!” he said.
David, a colorful Pennsylvanian who early in his professional career managed jewelry departments at big chain retailers, co-founded a research firm called GeoInvesting in 2006, Institutional Investor reported last year. The firm, which exposed several Chinese companies for fraud, is still in operation today, the spokesman confirmed.
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Since then, David’s career has included a major role in the 2018 documentary The China Hustle, which depicts David’s efforts “to expose the ongoing fraud being perpetrated on U.S. investors by Chinese companies,” according to Monday’s announcement.
“I've known and worked with Dan for many years and he possesses a heartfelt desire to use his research skills to protect investors from predatory managements," Block, a renowned short-seller and the founder of activist investment firm Muddy Waters, said in the announcement. “I'm excited to support him in the launch of Wolfpack Research and his ongoing efforts to uncover financial fraud and other wrongdoing at public companies.”
The spokesman declined to comment on the size of the Muddy Waters investment in Wolfpack.