Apr. 09, 2021
To Whom It May Concern, I strongly support the passage of SR-NSCC-2021-801. If this is not passed, it will only further diminish the public's trust (myself included) in the market's fairness and transparency. My name is Berhe Mehreteab and have been a regular American retail investor since 2014. I have been investing the little man I save over the years to invest because I believed in the fairness of the market. Recently, I have seen firsthand how increasing frequency and intensity of very questionable market dynamics/behavior has spread doubt throughout many retail investors as to the fairness and legitimacy of the ENTIRE market and not just the equities/stocks that are left unmanipulated. For context, my 401K portfolio (my money for my future and retirement) has been largely invested in Tesla, AMC, and Gamestop. Seemingly illegal but somehow unrestrained actions enabled short sellers to artificially push down the price of TSLA for years. Tesla, being an amazing company and one that I honestly believe will be pivotal for all of humankind's future, was able to weather the storm and push through. Appropriately so, those that had tried to bankrupt a company aimed at helping us as a species, were punished with their losses in the billions of dollars. However, there are countless other companies who have been "short"-ed into bankruptcy and non-existence just for some more money. It has gone on so unrestrained, unregulated, and un(appropriately)punished for decades and the time has come where retail investors are speaking out - myself included. To be clear, I feel the same way about companies whose stocks have been eradicated through market manipulation and media control. On top of all that, this isn't new. I remember 2008 (as I'm sure you do too) and that did not happen as a result of the average American Joe. It was greed, and it was the worst kind of greed in my opinion - the greed that exchanges regular American quality of life for bigger bonuses. Thank you in advance for being on the right side of change. Regards, Berhe Mehreteab