Jun. 07, 2022
Hi, I’m sure you are aware of the fact that certain conglomerates are comprised of multiple companies that have different roles in the U.S. stock market, while being owned by one person. Even to someone who is entirely self-taught on market metrics and procedure like myself this poses a massive conflict of interest across all of the market. A company that directs orders, whose counterparts in the conglomerate(s) also operate dark pools, and act as hedge funds (while controlling pensions and other individual investments) has the potential to be omnipotent in even the most regulated market ever to exist. Dark pools, and their lack of effect on market price in a given security, remove the entire purpose of creating the NYSE itself; for the people of a nation to invest in the businesses that are an immense part of society itself. My intent with this comment is to remove not only a few stocks from dark pool trading, but the entirety of retail orders on any given security in the U.S. stock market. There is no reason that orders comprised of less than 0.0001% of a company’s float should go to a dark pool to begin with. The effect an order that small has on the price of a stock, within an acceptable bid-ask spread, is negligible. As an American citizen, I ask that the S.E.C. ban the direction of all retail orders through dark pools of any kind, even for a period of 10 trading days. The change in momentum will be monumental, and economic recession could potentially be avoided. You are your own master, but the masses bear the strength.