Go Ahead, Punk, Short Our Stock

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It turns out that pretty much every company's a financial if you squint your eyes a little. The smattering of companies being shoehorned into the SEC's no-shorting list on an ad hoc basis is simply stupefying.

While sissies like Ford Motor (NYSE: F), IBM (NYSE: IBM), and NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) cling to Chris Cox's apron, a few companies have voluntarily waived the government's protection.

You could argue that Greenlight Capital Re (Nasdaq: GLRE) and Diamond Hill Investment Group (Nasdaq: DHIL) are hardly noble to bow out of the no-short list. After all, both firms employ long-short investment strategies, and would be hypocritical to seek cover. Still, I don't see Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) taking a similar stand.

A closer look at Diamond Hill reveals not a company looking to score some solid PR, but a firm that is highly principled and utterly Foolish.

Unlike the incredible shrinking Legg Mason (NYSE: LM), Diamond Hill is an asset manager that is actually growing amid the market carnage. The firm's popular long-short funds have actually seen assets under management balloon by over $1 billion since the start of the year.

All of Diamond Hill's funds explicitly follow a Ben Graham/Warren Buffett approach to value investing. As with any asset manager worth its salt, Diamond Hill eats its own cooking. In fact, employees are bound by the Code of Ethics to invest solely in Diamond Hill funds.

After reading through a few shareholder letters, I believe this company has an extremely bright future. Considerations of hypocrisy aside, it's no wonder Diamond Hill shows no fear in the face of would-be short-sellers.