Hi, could anyone please explain to me, what Williams act is? I found out that it exists on Wikipedia, not sure how it works in real life. Does that mean, that a buyer can not step in into a market a buy more than 5% of a company at a given day? That's bit harsh, isn't it?

Ignawin 

Hi, could anyone please explain to me, what Williams act is? I found out that it exists on Wikipedia, not sure how it works in real life. Does that mean, that a buyer can not step in into a market a buy more than 5% of a company at a given day? That's bit harsh, isn't it?

A buyer can buy more than 5% in an hour , week or month. It doesn't matter, they just have to disclose it and file paperwork with the SEC

But when exactly do you have to start filling out SEC's papers? I mean, can you first buy let's say 10% and then start doing the SEC work? Or is it the other way around?