Mar. 31, 2023
The current market is obviously not fair and this proposed rule is an important step in that direction. Fair competition is incredibly important and it’s good to see the SEC prioritizing true competition. 15 U.S.C. 78k-1 (“section 11A”) states that "It is in the public interest and appropriate for the protection of investors and the maintenance of fair and orderly markets to assure ... fair competition among brokers and dealers, among exchange markets, and between exchange markets and markets other than exchange markets." For too long the Commission has not been enduring fair competition, especially within the off-exchange systems that currently dominate. It's good to see they are beginning to take their mandate more seriously. Monopolies are bad, and there is clear monopolistic behavior here. The Commission notes that 90% of marketable orders of individual investors in NMS stocks go to a small group of six off-exchange dealers, and 66% is captured by just two firms. Those figures will be even higher for specific stocks. The state of American markets is clearly anti-competitive and that needs to change. COMPETITION IS GOOD The current market is obviously not fair and this proposed rule is an important step in that direction. Fair competition is incredibly important and it’s good to see the SEC prioritizing true competition. - A Household Investor