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?
No
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?
Less often than once a month.
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 downloaded an app or visited a website first, and then opened up an account with the company
6. My goals for trading or investing in my online account are (check all that apply):
Save and grow my money for medium- to long-term goals
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.)
Information that is important to me as an investor, and also settings, are often very hard to find or control. It seems like certain information is harder to absorb as well because they make it very simple to invest but provide little to no assistance in understanding the finer details in the relationship or control those details. I could but securities, even on margin, very easily and clearly, but I could not easily find the margin settings and controls for my accounts, had to dig and look through menus for it, and information disclosures like payment for order flow and share lending programs were nearly impossible to find and in as complicated a language as can be imagined (and I understand these concepts. There is a stark contrast between the ease of understanding how to spend my money with them and the difficulties in the way the details are disclosed and controlled about what they are doing with my money or securities. This goes for all the platforms Ive used.
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.)
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 : 1-2 Years
Bonds : 1-2 Years
Options : Less Than 12 Months
Mutual Funds : Less Than 12 Months
ETFs : None
Futures : None
Cryptocurrencies : Less Than 12 Months
Commodities : Less Than 12 Months
ClosedEnd Funds : None
Money Market Funds : 5+ Years
Variable Insurance Products : 5+ Years
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?
Unclear in full, Ive had to dig for the areas explaining anything more complex than the cursory use and operations of spending money. They make that real easy to understand, but put little effort into explaining the complex implications of the relationship and who they are working with and how
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
Investing as a retail participant is like trying to be a sheep in wolfs clothing. I feel like prey and that I, myself, am a financial product being bout and sold and urged to run in a certain direction. To be good as an investor means I have to move with the wolves (big dogs) and try to anticipate their movements because the combo of media marketing and their big movements is like setting traps for uninformed retail participants.