August 27, 2021
1. Do you have one or more online trading or investment accounts?
Yes, I have one or more accounts that I access online, either using a computer or a mobile app but I also access the account(s) in other ways (e.g., by calling or visiting in person).
2. If your response to Question 1 is Yes, do you think you would trade or invest if you could not do so online using a computer or using a mobile app?
Yes
3. On average, how often do you access your online account?
Daily/more than once a day
4. On average, how often are trades made in your online account, whether by you or someone else?
Once to a few times a week.
5. If you access your account online, did you have the account first, and only began to access it electronically later? Or did you open the account with the idea that you would access it electronically immediately?
I had a pre-existing account and downloaded an app or visited a website to access my account
6. My goals for trading or investing in my online account are (check all that apply):
Save and grow my money for short-term goals (in the next year or two)
7. What would you like us to know about your experience with the features of your online trading or investment platform? (Examples of features are: social networking tools games, streaks, or contests with prizes points, badges, and leaderboards notifications celebrations for trading visual cues, like changing colors ideas presented at order placement or other curated lists or features subscription and membership tiers or chatbots.)
options are good, however(in this instance with finance) behavior driven to increase profits on the other side of the trade is not acceptable. It is not clear who the 'House' really is when the gamifaciton is present. Financial markets, and actors are concluded and co-mingled.
8. If you were trading or investing prior to using an online account, how have your investing and trading behaviors changed since you started using your online account? (For example, the amount of money you have invested, your interest in learning about investing and saving for retirement, the amount of time you have spent trading, your knowledge of financial products, the number of trades you have made, the amount of money you have made in trading, your knowledge of the markets, the number of different types of financial products you have traded, or your use of margin.)
Made additional on options, as they were easier to understand and evaluate.
9. How much experience do you have trading or investing in the following products (None, 12 months, 1-2 years, 2-5 years, 5+ years):
Stocks : 5+ Years
Bonds : None
Options : 1-2 Years
Mutual Funds : 5+ Years
ETFs : 5+ Years
Futures : None
Cryptocurrencies : 5+ Years
Commodities : None
ClosedEnd Funds : 5+ Years
Money Market Funds :
Variable Insurance Products : None
Business Development Companies : None
Unit Investment Trusts : None
10. What is your understanding, if any, of the circumstances under which trading or investing in your account can be suspended or restricted?
Due to risk(if on margin) or pattern day trading, trading with un settled cash
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
It's great to be more accessible as well as push brokers for more transparency, better UI, and customer experience. The biggest risk is how the rest of the market responds to the new inflow of money. Each time a new bucket of money is found, new ways to pull that money from the investor is created. In the era of social media, bots, consolidated media, there are huge opportunities for the retail investor to be fleeced. One example, auto alerts, why do they show more when a stock is down and not up? key 'nudges' can be useful, but appear to try and drive behavior. Understanding and walling up the 'House' is important. In a casio or sports bet, you know who the house is. Is it clear in the finance world? Is my broker lending my shares? Do they actually have the certs? how do they make money off me? Is my data sold?
Establishing and enforcing sound market policies will go a long way in keeping these actors in check. This includes letting their side of the bet fail as it would for retail. Retail gets no time outs, side deals, do overs or protection. The market must function equally.