September 14, 2021
1. Do you have one or more online trading or investment accounts?
Yes, I have one or more accounts that I access online using a computer.
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 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 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 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.)
Gamification is a distraction to the real issues facing retail investors. The real issues in the market are pervasive naked short selling (especially among Market Makers), abusive strategic fail-to-delivers, and the complete lack of transparency as to short positions Due to complex derivatives such as swaps and the lack of reporting on short positions held within them, the marketplace has become completely effectively rigged. Please require reporting of ALL short positions swaps and break up the predatory monopoly of market makers and internalizers that have an informational advantage over retail investors by taking all our orders into their dark pools and trading against them This entire market structure makes me think that a completely transparent blockchain is the only way out of this mess. Please help us on the real issues that matter No one cares about gamification
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.)
Trading apps without the bid/ask spread have really screwed me over. At times I would buy high and sell low, yet due to a widened spread (which I didn't have access to) I actually sold lower than I bought. Two issues here: 1) Retail should at least be able to see the bid/ask 2) PFOF is widening the spread due to internalization to dark pools. Bottom line, PFOF should be banned and brokerages should be required to provide bid/ask. I think Phone Support should be required as well to prevent all-too-common situations where novice traders commit suicide due to simple account mix-ups.
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 : Less Than 12 Months
Options : Less Than 12 Months
Mutual Funds : Less Than 12 Months
ETFs : Less Than 12 Months
Futures : None
Cryptocurrencies : Less Than 12 Months
Commodities : None
ClosedEnd Funds : None
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?
As a newer investor, I have a moderate understanding of these situations - pattern day trading, margin restrictions, good faith violation and free-riding violations for cash accounts, etc.
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
Please address pervasive naked short selling by Market Makers and through complex derivative swap agreements Allow retail to see ACTUAL cumulative short interest. Bring more transparency to the market so that we can actually trust it Stop internalization and Payment-For-Order-Flow because it creates an informational dominance of hedge funds over retail Take the initiative to stop complex predatory schemes such as \"Cellar Boxing\" where Market Makers use naked shorting to pummel small-cap companies into the \"cellar\" at $0.0001 share price unable to escape. It is ridiculous that the SEC is targeting Gamification, Coinbase, and XRP rather than the predatory duopoly of internalizers such as Citadel and Virtu. When will the SEC start actually fighting to protect retail on issues that matter rather than fighting against us on harmless things like gamification and confetti emojis? Please help us.