February 7, 2022
I am in deeply in favor of adding additional transparency to our markets and believe that this proposed rule is an excellent opportunity to do so. I am thrilled that this rule will also address the rampant fraud within security-based swaps as it pertains to predatory naked shorting.
As a retail investor, I don't have faith in the market.
I believe that I'm in a fraudulent system and I'll cite Gary Gensler here: 90-95% of market orders are executed on dark markets/dark. This gives me zero reason to invest in a market where I know that between darkpool manipulation and payment for order flow the price discovery is outside of retail's hands. I can't confidently invest if I don't have the same information the big players do.
Price discovery aside, how can I even invest knowing that predatory naked shorting is so common? Even if I research and confidently invest in a business that I firmly believe in based on their fundamentals, how can I be assured that the market and media won't be manipulated to drive the company out of business?
Frankly put, our financial industry is un-American. It stifles American innovation while siphoning off wealth from the hardworking Americans - in fact, ANY investor, foreign or domestic.
Transparent markets are required for equity among investors. If information is continually hidden from the public, how can I, or any investor, be certain that the institutional players have my best interests in mind?
Thank you for reading my comment. I urge you to move forward with this proposed rule and eagerly look forward to fairer markets for all investors.