Mar. 12, 2023
Dear SEC, According to the Section 78k-1 of Title 15 of the United States Code, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and more specifically, the amendment to the existing Rule 610 of Regulation NMS, Order Competition Rule S7-31-22, investors should be provided with access to the most competitive prices available in the national market system. The determination of such prices should be subject to the forces of a competitive market. It is not feasible to permit the payment of billions of dollars for retail orders in order to monopolize the entire market. For numerous reasons, including the unprecedented nature of mandating certain market participants to utilize a specific trading protocol, Citadel has suggested that this proposal be withdrawn. As a result, I must respond that myself and others must vastly prefer to pay a commission to avoid sending my orders to a wholesaler to be internalized, which represents a particular trading protocol. WE have experienced the results. 4Wholesalers such as Citadel, who have been front-running customer orders since 2006, ought not to have a monopoly on retail order flow. The Economic Analysis carried out by the Commission inspires confidence, and I anticipate that retail investors will save between $1.12 billion to $2.35 billion on transaction costs. These anticipated gains would be generated primarily by an increase in competition to supply liquidity to marketable orders for individual investors, which would subsequently decrease transaction costs for such investors, potentially enhance order execution quality for institutional investors, and improve price discovery. Dr. Richard R. Lindsey, division director from 1995 to 1998, stated in a video published by the SEC Historical Society entitled "Regulation and Market Structure from ATS to NMS" on June 1, 2018, that "what was really needed was competition in the marketplace. And that competition really regulated markets much better than the SEC could. We didn't view it as our job to design the market, we viewed it as our job to try to allow more competition to exist. To let competition exist, you actually have to remove the barriers to competition that exist." I concur with Dr. Lindsey's assessment. One such obstacle to competition is the conflicted nature of PFOF. Thank you for your efforts to keep the markets fair and open to all participants. Kind Regards, …Mark A. Wells, San Diego, CA Cc: Hon. Sara Jacobs, Congresswoman, 51st District of California Mark A. Wells • President & CEO 7071 Convoy Ct., Ste 300, San Diego, CA 92111 Telephone: Cell: www.positioninguniversal.com --