September 26, 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?
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?
Other.
If Other, Explain:
Long term investor
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
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.)
Notifications: need to be regulated. They are arbitrary and give the app owners a way to influence the market in a way not used before. I find it extremely suspicious that I get notified about some stocks increasing by x% and not notified about other stocks.
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 know far more about the market now than I ever did before.
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 : None
Futures : None
Cryptocurrencies : None
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?
I don't use leverage in my account, so in my eyes, the only legitimate reason that trading/investing in my account would be me failing to provide regulatory required information. But, my understanding (based on what happened with GameStop) is that the ability for brokers to stop me trading/investing is completely unregulated and they have no legal obligations to allow continued access. Obviously this creates an unlevel playing field for retail investors.
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
PFOF should be banned, or apps forced to give retail investors the choice of which exchange to route orders to. Likewise, share lending should be my choice, not the brokers choice. If that means retail has to pay to play, that's acceptable - I'd rather pay than allow my own shares be used against my portfolio.