Date:    02/01/2000  8:23 PM


Subject: Margin Requirement Ref File # SR-NYSE-99-47  (NYSE Rule 431)
I am a small investor with a  $ 10,000 account and currently make 2 to 3 
trades/week.  These trades are usually 100 or 200 shares in size.  Without 
margin, I would not be in much of a position to earn a living.
     
  I have traded in the stock market off and on for 8 years and this the largest
account I have ever traded with.  All this time, I have learned, studied and 
practiced risk and money management as a vital part of my trading and it has 
paid off.  No one trades 100% and therefore there are times that the trader has 
to accept losses as part of the "territory".  
     
Being a small trader, I could not make much headway if it weren't for the 
ability to use margin to trade.  With the commission structures of most 
companies, one absolutely needs a helping hand in that regard.
     
The implication that a trader with a $25,000 account knows more about risk/money
management that a trader with a lesser amount, makes no sense to me and many of 
my associates.
     
If the margin requirement must be changed, I suggest you consider $ 5000 minimum
account.  Most online brokers are requiring that now.  Education is the final 
answer to the problem of risk, not raising the account limit.
     
Thank you for your consideration,
     
Sincerely,
     
Fred A. McKenzie, Jr.
Clearwater, Florida