February 16, 2016
Dear SEC,
I read about the latency arbitrage issue with great interest. How is this even legal? I then read about how IEX intends to solve this problem and think its a great idea. If the mass public truly understood the implications of what it means that their orders are not being made on a fair market, I think they would be outraged. I think its unfair that some people or companies are allowed to have speed advantages. Its like saying two people must run up 10 flights of stairs in order to make a trade. However, one of them gets to run up an escalator while the other has to run up a good old stairway. Also, as an average person, I definitely do not have the knowledge or resources to build my own router that will deal with this problem. I feel like this is equivalent to asking the average person to build their own phone or computer to use. If the SEC wants to help promote income inequality, they will deny IEX. However, if the SEC wants to help promote income equality, they will allow for IEX to go forward.
Thank you,
Eric K.