Mar. 17, 2020
Comment on SEC Proposed Rule #S7-24-15: I am writing to express my concern over the proposed legislation to restrict the purchase of buying leveraged and inverse funds. As a small investor, I have come to recognize the inherent advantages to being a much bigger fish in this pool. I have stayed away from futures, dabbled in currencies and worked with options so I have an understanding of risk. The funds the SEC is looking to further restrict are a place where the small investor has the opportunity to thrive without a lot of fancy metrics. My understanding is burdensome regulations will be placed on individuals, if it will even possible to place trades or have an advisor do it for us. I have placed trades and I have had my advisor also place similar trades. I also have a service that provides details on when to place these trades. The service I use would not be as beneficial to me if I could not place these trades and my money would sit in cash through corrective phase in the market. This is not good for me or the government as it will reduce the collectible taxes and the money I could spend in the economy. I have not seen where the SEC has identified a problem requiring this drastic measure. Limiting my ability to invest limits my ability to supplement my small pension. The bulk of my investments remain secure. Leveraged ETF’s offer me an opportunity to hedge my portfolio, much like larger investors with more complex vehicles to do so. Requiring me to provide extensive financial information to see if I “qualify” to invest in leveraged securities will end the possibility for many. Already the regulations are too tight on options trading. I have to attain levels through my broker just to place a trade. Again I have reliable services suggesting trades, but my broker will not let me place the trade. This is discouraging. Some trades above the lowest level are easier to make money at and with less risk. It would be disappointing to lose this great opportunity to make money with more restrictions and burdensome regulations. If we truly have free markets on public securities these regulations should not be enacted just to serve the privileged few. Regards, Michael Reis