August 30, 2021
1. Do you have one or more online trading or investment accounts?
Yes, I have one or more accounts that I access both online using a computer and using a mobile app.
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?
Once to a few times a week
4. On average, how often are trades made in your online account, whether by you or someone else?
Once to a few times per 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):
Keep the amount of money I have, while keeping up with inflation
Save and grow my money for medium- to long-term goals
Other
If Other, Explain:
It has come to light that predatory shorting tactics that artificially inflate the number of shares through naked shorting with the intent of bankrupting a company are being so blatantly abuse and overused that some financial institutions have made themselves exceedingly vulnerable should a target company not go bankrupt. Were it to come to light that a company were doing so, if enough people took the conservative approach of buying and holding a stock, as opposed to gambling on the fluctuations of the market, these abusers could face significant fiscal liability. If just by purchasing and holding stock in solid companies can prevent this abuse, and potentially punish these abusers, I am interested in seeing justice done.
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.)
The Vanguard app used to be terrible and lacked a lot of intuitive data, such as how your position had changed over time, recently it was updated and is easier and more friendly to use. I look forward to it's continued improvement. It does bother me that these platforms place some seemingly arbitrary limits on what you can do. For example, I can't put a limit sell for more than double the value of a stock or it will be automatically rejected, even though there is plenty of evidence that stock movement over 200% is currently happening with some stocks over the course of days or weeks. Everyone knows that money is made during periods of volatility it is fine for the big players to take advantage of it, but when retail investors anticipate fluctuations, they are unable to prepare and instead have to attempt to outcompete algorithms trading in the hundredths of a second. There have been incidents where selling has been blocked completely in times of enhanced profitability. It's pretty clear that the market at least favors the privileged few, if it isn't rigged altogether.
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.)
N/A
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 :
Options :
Mutual Funds : 5+ Years
ETFs :
Futures :
Cryptocurrencies : 1-2 Years
Commodities :
ClosedEnd Funds :
Money Market Funds : 5+ Years
Variable Insurance Products :
Business Development Companies :
Unit Investment Trusts :
10. What is your understanding, if any, of the circumstances under which trading or investing in your account can be suspended or restricted?
Trading on online platforms can be suspended if the large market players are in danger of losing too much money because of their poor decision making, or in cases where there is suspicion of illegal activity or fraud.
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
It is pretty clear that there is a caste system when it comes to the financial markets and investing. If you really want free markets, we need transparency, the elimination of darkpools that allow manipulation and fraud, and trades need to be implemented on a minimum of a one second clock, and preferably in one minute batches so that people can participate in the market instead of it being controlled by the invisible hand of the trading algorithms.