April 30, 2007
Over the last couple of years, numerous investors have been harmed by an unfortunate loophole which allows certain individuals to fraudently sell something they do NOT own. The practice of selling stock which one has merely been able to locate is absurd. I can think of no other commodity in the WORLD that can be sold without ownership. And the United States is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries in the WORLD. Unbelievabale.
I demand the SEC begin to do its job and protect the private investor in the same manner they protect the institutional investor. Eliminate anything that can be sold without ownership. Eliminate the mystery around the DTCC process. Eliminate the need for companies to pay $50,000 to determine true ownership. And finally, eliminate the transparency of short sellers and require they disclose positons greater than 5%. It is time to level the playing field.
It trully, and sadly, amazes me how incompetent the SEC is at following federals laws, and how poorly they protect the average investor. Our founding fathers would be embarrased.