September 10, 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 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):
Keep the amount of money I have, while keeping up with inflation
Save and grow my money for short-term goals (in the next year or two)
Save and grow my money for medium- to long-term goals
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.)
Who cares?
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.)
Ive become much more knowledgeable about market structure, strategy, and unfortunately corruption. I have much more money than I started investing with, but now understand how rules are implemented to keep the market overly complex reducing retail understanding and visibility to issues such as HFT, dark pools, complex swaps, etc.
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 : 5+ Years
Options : 2-5 Years
Mutual Funds : 5+ Years
ETFs : 2-5 Years
Futures : None
Cryptocurrencies : Less Than 12 Months
Commodities : None
ClosedEnd Funds : None
Money Market Funds : 5+ Years
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?
If I commit trading violations. Of course I also understand if hedgefunds, prime brokers, or prime brokers commit the same or worse, they will receive a fine of not more than 5% of the profit they made from said violation/s.
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
I, along with most retail investors, do not believe gamification of the market, which this survey seems to be interested in, is a priority problem. The real, fundamental, base issues are far more complex and do not headline well. However, retail having fun trading the stocks they like has infuriated those who benefit most from a uninformed retail public and have raised their concerns.
Should entities like the SEC, DTCC, etc decide to fix the many issues with market structure, fairness, and transparency, retail investors will begin to make more informed, prudent, and responsible investment in the market.