September 23, 2021
1. Do you have one or more online trading or investment accounts?
Yes, I have one or more accounts that I access 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?
No
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?
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
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.)
I am a Robinhood user and my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. I had always been interested in the markets but the first time the opportunity to engage in them was accessible with the advent of that app. Yes, these apps have \"visual cues, like changing colors\" but frankly, so does the stock ticker tape in Times Square. As far as the other things mentioned, there are no social networking tools beyond the ability to refer people you know, and \"no games, streaks or contests\" that I've participated in though perhaps these exist somewhere in the industry.
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.)
I've become more aware of investing offerings and the value of saving for retirement by buying and holding.
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 : None
Options : 1-2 Years
Mutual Funds : 1-2 Years
ETFs : 5+ Years
Futures : None
Cryptocurrencies : 1-2 Years
Commodities : 1-2 Years
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?
Margin call or fraud
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
I understand it may seem scary to incumbents at the SEC but you are not perceived as an ally of the retail investor. I find the insinuation that I am somehow manipulated by an app's choice of font and colors into making financial decisions insulting at worst and dubious at best. Actions like the ones you threaten come across as patronizing and protective of the rich-dominated status quo.