Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to "Complex Products" like L&I Funds, etc. Apparently once again the government thinks that all Americans are idiots. Concern that investors may be "confused" by "complex products" - I find this attitude highly offensive. I would very much prefer that you leave things as they are. If you REALLY want to do some good, look into the practice of Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley routinely downgrading price targets on equities then scooping up hundreds of thousands of shares at discounted pricing. Or, maybe you could take a look at how Market Makers and Hedge Funds ruin small cap businesses by manipulating the prices so they can repeatedly short the same stocks over and over at the expense of the small investor. Maybe you can come up with a rule that any equity with less than 1B market cap is not eligible to short, and that from 1-5B not more than 10% of the total float can be shorted? That would stop some of the pillaging of the small investors by Hedge Funds and MMs. Also, STOP the practice of "Naked Shorting". Please do something useful and forget about the "Confusion" complex products allegedly creates - this is really a non-issue while there are others that are glaringly in need of attention.
I am invested in a number of Complex Products. I understand the need to do my Due Diligence, monitor my positions frequently, and add/remove these products as market conditions dictate. Anyone with a brain should be able to adequately do the same. I understand that they are risky investments and I do not invest funds in such vehicles that I am not willing to lose. I think you will find most investors are as well or better qualified than I am to manage their own risk. I invest through several Brokerages (Webull, Robinhood, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, Goldman Sachs) and ALL of these platforms have various warnings and notices about the inherent risk involved with investing and that you may lose part or all of your investment. I do not think that we need to have any further government involvement in this issue. Instead, tackle the problem of Congress making killings on their stock trades because they are privy to information on upcoming legislation that they can use to their advantage. I would certainly LOVE to have that type of info! It is not fair to the rest of us that they can do that.
Alan Brend Comment On Regulatory Notice 22-08
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to "Complex Products" like L&I Funds, etc. Apparently once again the government thinks that all Americans are idiots. Concern that investors may be "confused" by "complex products" - I find this attitude highly offensive. I would very much prefer that you leave things as they are. If you REALLY want to do some good, look into the practice of Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley routinely downgrading price targets on equities then scooping up hundreds of thousands of shares at discounted pricing. Or, maybe you could take a look at how Market Makers and Hedge Funds ruin small cap businesses by manipulating the prices so they can repeatedly short the same stocks over and over at the expense of the small investor. Maybe you can come up with a rule that any equity with less than 1B market cap is not eligible to short, and that from 1-5B not more than 10% of the total float can be shorted? That would stop some of the pillaging of the small investors by Hedge Funds and MMs. Also, STOP the practice of "Naked Shorting". Please do something useful and forget about the "Confusion" complex products allegedly creates - this is really a non-issue while there are others that are glaringly in need of attention.
I am invested in a number of Complex Products. I understand the need to do my Due Diligence, monitor my positions frequently, and add/remove these products as market conditions dictate. Anyone with a brain should be able to adequately do the same. I understand that they are risky investments and I do not invest funds in such vehicles that I am not willing to lose. I think you will find most investors are as well or better qualified than I am to manage their own risk. I invest through several Brokerages (Webull, Robinhood, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, Goldman Sachs) and ALL of these platforms have various warnings and notices about the inherent risk involved with investing and that you may lose part or all of your investment. I do not think that we need to have any further government involvement in this issue. Instead, tackle the problem of Congress making killings on their stock trades because they are privy to information on upcoming legislation that they can use to their advantage. I would certainly LOVE to have that type of info! It is not fair to the rest of us that they can do that.