Thank you FINRA for extending the period for commenting. Also, I thank you for attempting to make the U.S. Equities Market a fairer and safer place for retail investors to do business. This year is the first in which I became a direct participant in the U.S. Stock Market. Before this year I only passively participated though my retirement plan, but this year I proudly became a retail investor. Submitting my first stock purchase was very exciting for me this year, and it is my hope that the stock and options market becomes more fair for the retail investor in the days ahead. In a short amount of time I have learned of different mechanisms that enable market makers to basically set the price for a security through; (but not limited to) PFOF, dark pools, rehypothecation, and using the options market to reset FTDs. I understood from the start that investing is somewhat like a casino, however, I was clueless to just how one-sided the whole system is. With the way the market is currently structured I would not advise just anyone to get involved, because there is so much corruption. For instance, the ability of a market maker to short a company into the ground through naked-shorting has basically destroyed thousands of jobs, pensions, and families. So I cannot in good faith tell others that the market is fair when American companies may be targeted by an endless cascade of fake selling pressure generated by entities designed to simply provide liquidity for both sides of a trade. So stricter reporting requirements for synthetic short positions are a must. Additionally, dark pools allow for the hiding of buying pressure in-favor of short sellers who then allow selling pressure to go to lit exchanges. Without new rules, and most importantly without enforcement I fear the U.S. Stock, and Options markets may no longer be the financial hub of the world with competition from China who seems to want to do more to make their markets fair. Thank you FINRA for protecting retail investors, and thank you for your time. Daniel L.
Daniel L. Comment On Regulatory Notice 21-19
Thank you FINRA for extending the period for commenting. Also, I thank you for attempting to make the U.S. Equities Market a fairer and safer place for retail investors to do business. This year is the first in which I became a direct participant in the U.S. Stock Market. Before this year I only passively participated though my retirement plan, but this year I proudly became a retail investor. Submitting my first stock purchase was very exciting for me this year, and it is my hope that the stock and options market becomes more fair for the retail investor in the days ahead. In a short amount of time I have learned of different mechanisms that enable market makers to basically set the price for a security through; (but not limited to) PFOF, dark pools, rehypothecation, and using the options market to reset FTDs. I understood from the start that investing is somewhat like a casino, however, I was clueless to just how one-sided the whole system is. With the way the market is currently structured I would not advise just anyone to get involved, because there is so much corruption. For instance, the ability of a market maker to short a company into the ground through naked-shorting has basically destroyed thousands of jobs, pensions, and families. So I cannot in good faith tell others that the market is fair when American companies may be targeted by an endless cascade of fake selling pressure generated by entities designed to simply provide liquidity for both sides of a trade. So stricter reporting requirements for synthetic short positions are a must. Additionally, dark pools allow for the hiding of buying pressure in-favor of short sellers who then allow selling pressure to go to lit exchanges. Without new rules, and most importantly without enforcement I fear the U.S. Stock, and Options markets may no longer be the financial hub of the world with competition from China who seems to want to do more to make their markets fair. Thank you FINRA for protecting retail investors, and thank you for your time. Daniel L.