June 1, 2009
I am an individual investor/trader and take both long and short positions in all time frames from intraday to multi-year.
I support bringing back a full uptick rule. Shares are portions of ownership in a business, not gambling chips. There is no reason that the market must be regulated symmetrically as if stock shares were merely trading markers.
The composition of the market has changed since the rule was removed, and consists of more computerized program trading. Big brokers have downsized their trading desks that used to facilitate big orders, meaning that now those orders may be dumped in size on a market that now lacks the liquidity to fill the whole order at one price.
I am opposed to circuit breaker proposals as they are confusing and difficult to deal with for the smaller traders, giving the big computerized entities and unfair advantage, and a free-fire zone down to the level where the circuit breaker cuts in. Rather than the circuit breaker proposals, I would support no change in the present rules.
Please bring back a full uptick rule.
Thank you.