Mar. 26, 2023
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Mrs. Countryman, I am writing to express my support for the proposed rule changes aimed at improving fair competition and transparency in the securities markets. As an investor, I believe that every rule the SEC passes is only as good as the enforcement that backs it. Therefore, I want to see higher fines that serve as a significant deterrent against illegal activities in the market, and companies found in violation of the law multiple times having their licenses revoked along with permanent bans from participating in the future. I also deeply appreciate and support any efforts to reduce the speed games that damage the integrity, credibility, and functioning of American markets through Payment for Order Flow. Additionally, I support any efforts to reduce inducements and to reduce the "farming" of individuals' orders for rebate money or other kickbacks. I am concerned about the unfair information advantage that wholesalers gain over other market participants when brokers route orders to them before the auction. I believe that the Commission should address this issue by having brokers first route to the auction and specify where the order should go if the auction is unsuccessful, which would provide equal knowledge to the entire market. I also strongly support the proposed rule changes that bring more transparency to dark markets. The current rule forces dark pools to provide quotes and trades to consolidated market data if they wish to operate as an auction, which would enable the investing public to have easy access to what is happening within the markets. I believe that fair competition is incredibly important, and the SEC needs to take its mandate to ensure fair competition more seriously, especially within the off-exchange systems that currently dominate. Monopolies are bad, and there is clear monopolistic behavior in the market. I support the proposed rule changes as an important step towards fair competition. I would like to pay more per share to avoid being routed through a wholesaler that has been charged with legal violations by the United States government. Therefore, I would gladly pay a commission to avoid being routed through a wholesaler, especially one with a long record of flouting the law like Citadel Securities. I believe that wholesalers exercise extreme influence on other market participants and have conflicts of interest that need to be addressed. Additionally, FINRA is evaluating the impact of commission free trading, and the results should be made public. Finally, I would like to emphasize that removing profiteering middlemen from the market will improve prices for both individuals and institutions. Recent research shows that on top of the Commission's estimate that the auctions would save individuals from billions of dollars taken by wholesalers, it would also save institutions over $1.5 billion each year. I believe that this change is necessary to stop wholesalers from taking from citizens and people's pensions. Thank you for considering my views. I hope that the proposed rule changes are implemented soon to improve the fairness and transparency of the securities markets. Sincerely, David Schwinne