Mar. 31, 2023
Dear reader, I hereby want to express my support for a rapid introduction and compliance with the Order Competition Rule, File No. S7-31-22, Release No.34-96495. To be fair and straight to the point as we Dutch people like it, the current market isn’t even a shadow of the fair and free market it pretends to be. Its controlled by colluding predatory parties directly profiting from their powers. I see it and with me millions of other househould investors, slowly losing faith in the system. The current situation is worse then grading your own exam and evokes a huge amount of frustration and distrust in the nowadays market among household investors. There’s conflict of interest, illegal practices and maybe most important, lack of consequences for parties involved. I see it and with me millions of other household investors, slowly losing faith in the system. I know for a fact, since I saw a good investment opportunity in Gamestop around January 2021 and literally follow developments multiple hours on a daily basis ever since. I see buy volume largely exceeding sell volume yet price declining, I see spoofing, I see abuse of derivatives instruments pressuring price developments in the desired direction yet overleveraging them to the point it becomes a threat to the whole economy, I see overseas accommodation of holdings in shady business forms to avoid reporting requirements, I see share availability to borrow exactly matching borrowers wishes, I see willfully lack of transparency . Not incidental, but on a daily basis. I see it and with me millions of other household investors, slowly losing faith in the system. How can you pretend to facilitate a fair and free market when the most basic principles of free market forces, creation of fair prices through supply and demand, are completely at the mercy of incentivized parties, violating this delicate mechanism as they wish through their ability to internalize orders, route them off exchange and other exemptions in a way that fits them best. They determine about the course of a stock and with that possess the power to eventually run a company into the ground. Apart from the disastrous consequences for employees and society, what makes that worth my thorough due diligence, promoted to the ridiculous by the SEC? Absolutely nothing. Why and how on earth became these market makers such powerful in nowadays markets? It is completely ludicrous. I see this and with me millions of other household investors, slowly losing faith in the system. The stock market is total mess. Lets start cleaning this mess up starting with implementing and severely complying of this crucial rule before its too late, everyone sees through the charade and leaves in distrust. Or worse. I want value form my hard earned money and hours spent researching investment opportunities in true price discovery. My orders should be hitting the tape and affect price movement and market makers should not have the ability to invalidate a perfectly good investment decision by channeling away orders that don’t fit their purpose. Free and fair markets are dead if this first step can’t be made. Luckily Ken Griffin of Citadel, one of the largest market makers agrees here and I would like to end my comment with a quote recorded from his mouth; ‘ Internalization is one of the greatest threats to price discovery in financial markets’. I agree with this and with me millions of other household investors, longing for signs to restore faith in the system. Wishing you wisdom, Jeroen