September 4, 2012
Dear Mr. SEC,
I own an IPAD and have discovered the wonders of the internet. I see that you are asking for comments regarding your proposal to allow advertising of private investments, REG D 506 as you call them.
In May, I had the opportunity to buy a stock without anyone asking me about my level of sophistication. It was a sure thing. Everybody was trying to buy it and I was told I'd be lucky to get a thousand shares. I cashed in my certificate of deposit that was yielding .50% per annum and ordered 1000 shares through a discount broker.
Since then, although I still use Facebook each night to check in with my friends and everything that they do, I have lost about 50% of my money. I did get a discount on the commission though, about $29. Additionally, I have had the ability to sell my shares each trading day since May 12th. I could have sold my shares on the morning of the IPO date for a profit, but I figured it would just keep going up. I guess Im unsophisticated. Lots of my friends thought they were lucky to buy Facebook too.
I have since read up on my investment and have found that the only ones who have made money were those who owned Facebook before it came public. They owned the private placement.
I guess public stocks are just another way of re-distributing the wealth.
What puzzles me is why you are so concerned about private investments and the danger to the public, when IPOs may pose as big a risk, and there's no sophistication check.