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 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?
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):
Have fun
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.)
My online broker does not have those childish game-like mechanics and I enjoy that about it.
I don't mind the automatic display of investment tools.
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 : Less Than 12 Months
Bonds : None
Options : None
Mutual Funds : None
ETFs : Less Than 12 Months
Futures : None
Cryptocurrencies : None
Commodities : None
ClosedEnd Funds : Less Than 12 Months
Money Market Funds : None
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?
I am familiar with exchange-implemented halts. If a broker prevents me from buying or selling while the relevant exchange does not I consider that market manipulation.
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
I feel that as a retail investor I am at a significant disadvantage in the market. Hedge funds and large firms have high frequency trading algorithms that they use to front run trades and screw average investors. Hedge funds and market makers have access to [REDACTED] like ATS and dark pools that completely detach actual prices from assets and price discovery. If I developed a high frequency algorithm to trade I would be imprisoned, if the hedge funds and market makers do it, they are commended for innovation. How is that a fair market? There is nothing fair or free about the market. It's a rigged casino game where the house (hedge funds and market makers) always win. It is a flimsy facade of itself run by racketeers, gangsters, fraudsters, and con men. Bernie Madoff was just the tip of the rotten iceberg. Self regulation is a joke concept and it's effects are laughable. Why have the 1940 act of you can be exempt on a whim? The large firms don't just make the rules, they ignore them with impunity. Either we all play by the same rules or we're not playing the same game.