February 12, 2007
Is anybody in the government THINKING anymore?
This SEC prohibition fails miserably on (at least) two major fronts.
1. The SEC is a watchdog organization - stated objective is to find and punish the crooks. Their place and role is NOT to set prices.
The markets are OPEN. Traders and investors, be they futures traders or currency traders SET the rates and prices in the OPEN markets.
Yet, the SEC is taking upon itself to FIX rates and SET prices in the open market, in which hedge funds trade and invest, by establishing pre-determined prices of entry for investors and traders into investment instruments (hedge funds).
This is inherently wrong, and against all the markets stand for. The "little guys" should have the same opportunities to increase and maintain their money as rich people do. With NO OPPRESSION or blocks in their way.
It is NOT the job of the SEC to oppress the poor. Nor to determine intelligence levels of people who freely choose to do with their money what they want to do with it.
The SEC is WAY off their mission, that is to police the markets and investment vehicles for wrongdoing. The SEC should and MUST keep it that way.
2. This point is so grossly and blatantly obvious it goes off the chart of stupidity that the SEC is still pursuing the prohibition of entry into hedge funds. Read closely.
Everyone, regardless of job title, net worth or income can freely (self-)trade and (self-)invest in the markets: Futures (e-minis), stocks, and ForEx (currency trading), etc., without constraint.
Everyone can open and close trades with real money in these markets while the SEC stands by saying, "We don't care how sophisticated you are or are NOT. It is fine for you to blow up your entire accounts and lose all your money. Go for it."
Yet, the SEC prohibits these same people, who trade and invest and get wiped out in the open markets, from having access to Professional money managers who manage these same people's pension fund money and other institution-based money.
How wrong is that? How bizzarre is that?
Trading the ForEx is MUCH MORE RISKY than giving your money to a Professional money manager at a hedge fund. Yet, there are now 100s of online places where you can access the foreign exchange and trade with leverage (margin) as high as 400:1 and even higher.
Yet, the SEC is sitting as Judge against lessor well-heeled traders and investors dictating to them by not allowing them access to skilled and talented traders and investors at hedge funds.
So, it's OK, according to the SEC, for ALL people to get vaporized DAILY and lose ALL their money by trading and investing in open markets, but for these same people to put their money on account to be managed professionally at hedge funds is NOT OK and is NOT allowed.
What kind of backwater mentality is this?? It's a throwback to the segregation-style of the 40s, that's what it is. Based on the 1940s Investor Act.
The entire "accredited natural person" structure of the 1940s Act needs to be done away with - it is BY FAR outdated and obsolete.
Online trading and investing has changed the entire dynamics of the marketplace.
The open market(place) has to be the one that sets the price of entry and the rates instruments are traded and invested at in an equal and fair environment OPEN to ALL.
And, this mostly includes access to hedge funds, trading with hedge funds and investing with hedge funds.
Let the hedge fund managers set their own entry levels to their own hedge funds based on their own criteria as professional traders and investors in the open markets.
Allow fair and equal access.
The rest will all sort itself out the way it does now in the open markets that are FREE to set their own rates and entry levels.
SEC, get updated and stop your segregation of the masses.
You are NOT the judge in these matters. Mind your own business and stop your discrimination.
Thank you,
- bw
advanced currency trader