Jun. 3, 2026
To whom it may concern, I wanted to comment on the SEC’s Draft Strategic Plan because I like a lot of what it says. The goals around protecting investors, supporting innovation, increasing stakeholder engagement, and being more accountable and transparent sound exactly right. But for a lot of us retail investors, these words are hollow after what happened with MMTLP (the Meta Materials preferred shares) back in December 2022. That whole situation went against almost everything this plan promises: Stonewalling and zero transparency – Even after 56,000+ emails from investors, 848 formal complaints, letters from dozens of Members of Congress, and tons of FOIA requests, the SEC and FINRA still haven’t given us any real answers on short interest, failures-to-deliver, blue sheets, or why the trading halt and symbol deletion happened the way it did. FOIA denials have been off the charts. This is the exact opposite of the “stakeholder engagement” and openness the plan talks about in Goal 2 and Objective 2.1. Investors got left holding the bag – The sudden corporate action change and U3 halt wiped out liquidity for thousands of regular people while there were massive alleged synthetic shorts and settlement issues. Nothing was done to fix the regulators’ role in the mess or the fact that we still have no public share count or explanation. No real review of what went wrong – Objective 2.3 talks about doing retrospective reviews of rules and practices to fix unintended problems. MMTLP is the perfect example of something that desperately needs that kind of review, but more than three years later nothing has happened. Here are a few straightforward suggestions so this plan actually delivers on its promises: Under Objective 2.3, commit to a public review of the entire MMTLP halt and OTC process within the first year. Release the non-confidential data (short interest, FTDs, blue sheets, decision notes) and give clear rules for future halts so this doesn’t happen again. In Objective 2.1 (stakeholder engagement), set up a rapid-response system for retail investors and make it the default to share info on big market events that affect thousands of us — instead of forcing everyone to file FOIAs that have frequently denied. For Objective 2.2 (enforcement on fraud and manipulation), also track and fix cases where the regulatory process itself hurt investors, not just when companies mess up. Enforce actual penalties that would detour bad actors from breaking the rules. Minimal fines given are a small fraction of the profits made from the activities. This is looked at as a "cost of doing business" and is unacceptable. Under Objective 3.2 (tech modernization), add real-time public reporting for short interest and FTDs on OTC stocks, plus better resources aimed to aid investors, not hinder them. Make access to these resources clear and direct so investors don’t have to beg for basic facts. Add one simple performance metric under Goal 3: publicly report how many investor complaints on major events get a real answer within 90 days, including backlog numbers and FOIA denial rates. We all want to believe the SEC’s vision that “capital markets work to the benefit of all Americans.” Closing the MMTLP case with real transparency and accountability would show that these goals aren’t just talk. Show retail investors and the general public the SEC has their back. That America free and FAIR public markets. Regards, Dustin Hite MILLS, WY MMTLP SHAREHOLDER/RETAIL INVESTOR