January 30, 2020
To Whom It May Concern at the SEC:
With all due respect, the proposal regarding leveraged and inverse funds is typical government overreach. There are some people who are not capable of understanding ETFs or Mutual Funds. Are you going to limit or eliminate their ability to buy those? There are a lot of people who may not understand stock options? Are you going to eliminate those too? Leveraged and inverse funds have their purpose and I believe that it is not the government's responsibility to protect me from myself. If I make poor decisions in purchasing certain types of financial instruments, that is on me. I happen to believe that leveraged and inverse funds are actually quite important for a well-rounded, diversified portfolio. More specifically, inverse funds are hedges, just as puts and shorting stocks are hedges. If you eliminate my ability to buy inverse funds, are you also going to prevent me from buying / selling puts and from shorting stocks? Leveraged funds may be riskier than non-leveraged funds however, there are many risks (penny stocks, etc.) available and it is up to investors to do their homework and make those decisions for themselves. The SEC has never, cannot now and will never be able to protect all investors. I have made money and I have lost money and I certainly don't blame the SEC because certain financial instruments are available. Those were my decisions. To summarize, I am 100% against any regulations that impact my ability as an investor to buy and sell leveraged and inverse funds. Thank You. Dwayne Witten, Phoenix, Arizona, January 30, 2020