February 7, 2022
I have been a small retail level investor for more than 25 years. When I first began I thought my trades mattered, and my purchases would affect pricing in the way my dad and mentors explained it.
I am a long term value investor. I dont do options and I dont do any Shorts.
Since the crisis in 2008 it has become more and more apparent that our stock market is not for investing in companies you believe in, it is For your assets and money to be used or abused at the whim of a select few ultra wealthy funds and market makers.
The use of ATS defeats any benefit of retail buys and allows levels of manipulation that may be better defined as a ponzu scheme. I still cannot, for the life of me, understand why ATS are needed in the day and age of instant computer transactions. The only purpose they hold is to game the system.
All purchases and transfers should hit Lit exchanges. Whether it is between two hedge funds or made by long term retail investors. The heavy manipulation has closed many companies and affected millions of jobs.
We are now at a crossroads where the world has opened its eyes to the corruption of the US financial system, and many investors (corporate or individual) have begun to pull their assets from the US system.
If we dont move to outlaw ATS immediately, we will soon find ourselves second, or third, to foreign and digital exchanges.
So in truth, either crash the system and save the remaining faith in the US market, or it will crash on its own as the exodus continues. I personally would rather see a few billionaires out of work than millions of great Americans.