Yes Laddering is real, "Short Ladder Attack" is just editorializing the Laddering of Naked Shorts
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| Author      | Source | 
|  :----:     |    :----:   |        
| [u/SpeedoCheeto](https://www.reddit.com/user/SpeedoCheeto/) | [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/comments/lf4vn3/yes_laddering_is_real_short_ladder_attack_is_just/) |

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[Discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/search?q=flair_name%3A%22Discussion%22&restrict_sr=1)

I've seen a lot of back and forth among those who want to hand-wave away price manipulation because the term "Short Ladder Attack" is something Google doesn't return much about.

"Ladder" is a term for an investment technique that requires investors to purchase multiple financial products with different maturity dates.

*Legal Laddering ex:*

> *Bond Laddering* can also be used as an overall retirement planning approach for all retirement investments. The idea is to separate CDs, cash, bonds, annuities, and others into different "ladders" (or "buckets" or "baskets") depending on when the asset is expected to be liquidated to fund the retirement revenue stream. Low-risk assets are used at the start of retirement (and usually have an expected lower rate of return, due to lacking a risk premium). Higher-risk assets would be placed in a basket used at the end of retirement.
>
> This strategy is useful for a diversified portfolio, with other assets in the stock market etc. Generally an initial investment of $10,000-$20,000 is required in order to purchase 5-10 bonds with different maturities for a specific timeline.

<https://www.investingdaily.com/11015/a-fixed-income-stairway-to-heaven-bond-ladders/>

<https://www.investopedia.com/investing/build-bond-ladder-boost-returns/#axzz1pbC2xhqE>

> *Short Put Laddering or Bull Put Laddering* is a unlimited profit, limited risk strategy in options trading that is employed when the options trader thinks that the underlying security will experience significant volatility in the near term. To setup the short put ladder, the options trader sells an in-the-money put, buys an at-the-money put and buys another lower strike out-of-the-money put of the same underlying security and expiration date.

<https://www.theoptionsguide.com/short-put-ladder.aspx>

<http://www.avasaram.com/tutorials/options/tutorialLauncherOptions.jsp;jsessionid=26FAFB61A8A36CEA9E59009630263FCE.server1?tutorial=Bull%20Put%20Ladder>

*Illegal Laddering ex:*

> *IPO Laddering* also describes a process where, in order to purchase shares at a given price, investors must also agree to purchase additional shares at a higher price. This artificially inflates the price of the stock and allows insiders to buy at the lower price, with a guarantee that they will be able to sell at a higher price. This practice has resulted in investigations of national and global banks by the SEC after the stock market collapse.

<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1785342>

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OK that was fun. We know a little more about a common term in investment strategy in "Laddering". We know that IPO Laddering was deemed illegal and reported on at length; where a party is able to artificially set the price of a stock by forming an agreement with another party that underwrites the retail price.

Now in the more in-depth version of the "Short Ladder Attack" article written ~6 years ago that's lately been passed around, the author describes at length how "Naked Shorts" can be combined with "Laddering" strategy to artificially set the price of a stock via shares not actually owned by either party. This is effectively what the blogger coined as the "Short Ladder Attack" strategy.

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> *Naked Short* --- This is an invention of the securities industry that is a license to create counterfeit shares. In the context of this document, a share created that has the effect of increasing the number of shares that are in the market place beyond the number issued by the company, is considered counterfeit. This is not a legal conclusion, since some shares we consider counterfeit are legal based upon today's rules. The alleged justification for naked shorting is to insure an orderly and smooth market, but all too often it is used to create a virtually unlimited supply of counterfeit shares, which leads to widespread stock manipulation---the lynchpin of this massive fraud.
>
> *The Anatomy of a Short Attack* --- Abusive shorting are not random acts of a renegade hedge funds, but rather a coordinated business plan that is carried out by a collusive consortium of hedge funds and prime brokers, with help from their friends at the DTC and major clearinghouses. Potential target companies are identified, analyzed and prioritized. The attack is planned to its most minute detail.
>
> The plan consists of taking a large short position, then crushing the stock price, and, if possible, putting the company into bankruptcy. Bankrupting the company is a short homerun because they never have to buy real shares to cover and they don't pay taxes on the ill--gotten gain. (Click here for more on [Bankrupting The Victim Company](http://counterfeitingstock.com/CS2.0/CS4BankruptingTheVictimCompany.html)).
>
> When it is time to drive the stock price down, a blitzkrieg is unleashed against the company by a cabal of short hedge funds and prime brokers. The playbook is very similar from attack to attack, and the participating prime brokers and lead shorts are fairly consistent as well.

<http://counterfeitingstock.com/CS2.0/CounterfeitingStock.html>

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tl;dr - focusing on the terminology for "short ladder attack" is pedantic; what's being described is the combination of a Laddering price manipulation tactic combined with Naked Shorts. Both of those things are things.

I'm pretty retarded so I can't personally really imagine one being able to actually form a real case given data available to the public, or even those with terminal access. You'd need a real investigation with the power to subpoena data from the source.

Yes, the concepts described in the "Short Ladder Attack" article are real things. You can call it a number of things, but it's effectively a similar tactic to all "laddering" via shares neither party actually owns.

No, that doesn't mean that's definitely what happened w/ GME.

And No, you don't need a smoking gun to ask the SEC to investigate it.
