March 12, 2020
Dear SEC, I am writing to express my concerns about the proposal to limit my investment options by requiring my broker to determine if I am able to comprehend using leveraged ETFs. This is a terrible idea for many reasons, first and foremost is that it goes against what America stands for... please don't restrict my opportunity to create wealth, and to protect the wealth I have created in this "land of opportunity".
I sign into my account and monitor my investments throughout the day, every day, and I have my finger on the pulse of the market from open to close. These leveraged ETFs are an important tool in protecting and building my wealth.
Based on my hundreds of trades, I certainly hope that I would be grandfathered in to be able to continue trading these products without having to be approved by my broker, in the event that the SEC opts to go forward with this unprecedented and un-American proposal. Investors who don't understand or pay attention to their positions will likely lose whether it is a standard stock, a bond, a note, or whatever the vehicle. Please don't penalize any particular product due to the poor investment monitoring and maintenance of one's portfolio. An investor can lose significantly more money by shorting TSLA, for example, than by taking a short-term position or option contract on a leveraged ETF. The SEC can't fix stupid... the market fixes stupid, regardless of the vehicle. I strongly oppose this proposal and implore you to quash it. Sincerely, Brian Cunningham