February 21, 2020
Dear SEC,
Please consider carefully any restrictions you place on the purchase of leveraged securities. The market is already rigged in favor of the haves at the expense of the have nots. You would just be limiting access to amazing wealth creation tools to the people who need it most. If we, as a country, still esteem intellectual curiosity and can get out of the way of our great thinkers, we have a shot at solving big issues like trillion-dollar college debt and deadly climate change. If we restrict the tools available to just a small subset of the population, we greatly reduce the chances that the solutions will be found.
Let young minds with unbridled curiosity figure out how to use these securities and test and apply appropriate risk measures to safely and consistently produce multiplied returns. These tools are the key to overcoming unprecedented levels of future liabilities. For example, geared or leveraged securities could have profound impacts on underfunded pensions, both private and public. In fact, the Wealth Management industry has not caught on yet, but leveraged securities will be core portfolio components in the near future doing more to secure the financial future of Americas retirees than even Social Security.
The leveraged and inverse security providers already go to great lengths to warn the investing public about the risks inherent in their products. In doing so they likely scare away too many creative thinkers that would otherwise build the next great hedge funds. We dont need fewer players in this space, we need more. If America is to rise to the challenge of the next century before our greatest competitors, we need to stop handcuffing our bright young minds and instead let a little creative finance lead to the next great financial revolution.
If all of this sounds too good to be true, it isnt. It is already happening and I trust and hope you will have the good sense not to get in the way.
Humbly yours,
Patrick Dailey