Oct. 30, 2022
October 30, 2022 Hi SEC, please excuse the nonsensical phone number. Unfortunately, your phone number field does allow for internal numbers. I'm a retail investor from Germany who holds positions in various US equities. The fact that swap data is currently withheld from the public and will be for the next couple of years is just outrageous. While swaps have legitimate use cases, they can also be used for dubious acts, such as hiding short positions. Financial media tells me I should do my research, but how am I supposed to do research if the data sets are poor, incomplete, or worse, hidden in the dark? If we cannot look into the swap data, we cannot make educated decisions on our investments and continue to allow manipulation and fraud to happen in the shadows. Having public and up-to-date swap data will allow me and other retail investors to research the relationship between financial institutions and their positions. It will help prevent fraud, as dubious swap positions will be on the public radar immediately. It will lead to fairer markets, as the playing field will be leveled and financial gains will be earned throug h research and smart investments rather than fraud and manipulation. I hope that the SEC will do the right thing and help make the markets more fair and transparent. The US has gifted us with some of the most innovative companies in the world and investing in the US equity markets should be safe and fair for all parties, regardless of retail investors or hedge funds. Kind regards, Marco Stahl