Aug. 20, 2023
To whom it may concern, I would like to express my full support for Rule Proposal S7-32-10. I am reluctantly writing this comment letter because I am disappointed that these kinds of topics are still not self-explanatory in this day and age. As an investor with hard earned money on the line, I would hope that the insight into this matter would be there to protect the market in general and retail investors in particular. Of course it is pivotal that this rule is introduced. As the title says; "Prohibition Against Fraud, Manipulation, or Deception in Connection with Security-Based Swaps"; how could someone possibly be agianst? Well, maybe when you (or your well paying sponsors/donors) got something to hide and your into the business of Fraud, Manipulation or Deception? Anyway, the fundamental function of a market is to match supply and demand to arrive at a fair price. A fair price discovery process is key. All kinds of instruments such as swaps, the opacity that this entails and especially the lack of reporting requirements on this, means that an unlevel playing field has arisen with risks not only at the individual investor level, but even at the macro economic level (everyone freshly remembers the Archegos fiasco in which swaps played a significant role) when insufficient insight into - and compliance are provided. All the other arguments put forward by opponents of this rule (I read about liquidity, efficiency and its a massive stretch, but even price discovery...) are of secondary importance and should be seen and treated as such. As a supervisor being the SEC, how can you properly perform your work if this kind of trivial information is not available? Wall Street has proven time and time again that it cannot handle this responsibility. And since I am allowed to play with the big boys as an individual investor, I also expect to be able to do this on an equal field, in which insight and transparency are crucial. When you allow household investors to be part of the market, it is essential to get rules like this implemented. A digital market like this works on the basis of a trustworthy process. Insight into what drives the price is therefore essential. Although it might already be too late, it is about time we fix our market. Please get this rule implemented. Regards, Jeroen van Setten Verzonden vanaf Outlook voor Android