Mar. 13, 2023
To Whom it May Concern, I'm writing to you today to amend my previous comment regarding S7-31-22 (which also addressed several other rules at the time) as new information has been provided to me in regards to the quality of this rule. As an individual, household investor, I fully support this rule with the singular exception that Order Auctions should take first priority. At this current time, this rule grants Market Maker's extra privilege in the order flow, as they are granted access to an order before any other entity. This gives them an unfair advantage in speed and information. This is tantamount to a monopolistic situation. Although there are currently 6 market makers, with 66% of order flow routing to Citadel and Virtu, so I suppose it's more of an Duo- or Oligopolistic situation. Regardless, that is unhealthy for the markets. This, and the current state of affairs regarding payment for order flow, stand directly opposed to the objective of the SEC, as outlined in Title 15 U.S.C. 78k-1 of the U.S. legal code (reference: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/78k-1 ) As such, any and all order flow, especially from household investors, should be routed directly to auction before any other entity has any interaction with our orders and/or the associated data. Further enhancements to the transparency and accountability of financial entities within the markets is extremely important, especially in these times of doubt with regards to the durability and integrity of the Banking Sector in light of Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Penalties for illegitimate actions should be increased to truly dissuade the fraud which has run rampant for the past 20 years. Furthermore, action should be taken to hinder the effectiveness and side-effects of HFT algorithms. The markets are a place for investing, not gambling and price gouging for cents on trades. I support Bernie Sanders suggestion of $2 tax per transaction completed (even if cancelled or spoofed by an institution algo). Thank you for your time and I hope you find success in your efforts in regulating the markets to return power to the people. You've done a better job than any SEC group in the past 80 years. Deepest of Regards, A humble, household investor.