September 25, 2021
1. Do you have one or more online trading or investment accounts?
I have one or more accounts, and I access them online using a computer or 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?
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 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 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):
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.)
The first online account I opened was long ago with my bank to manage my IRA. Recently with the advent of the Robinhood app, I downloaded it to see if I could try my hand at investing with more direct control and faster response time than I would instructing my financial advisor to make one move or another with my IRA. I was honestly shocked at how easy it was to get approved for options trading - Robinhood did almost NO education or due diligence on the capital requirements of accounts before approving anyone for options trading.
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 have invested more in individual stocks and done significantly more research on market conditions than I otherwise would have done. I invested far more actual cash before the advent of online platforms, but in addition to my regular monthly transfers to my IRA, now online trading lets me engage in the markets in such a way that makes me much more interested in doing up-to-date market research, paying attention to the markets movements, and understanding the regulatory framework in which the market operates.
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 : Less Than 12 Months
Mutual Funds : 5+ Years
ETFs : 5+ Years
Futures : None
Cryptocurrencies : 2-5 Years
Commodities : Less Than 12 Months
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?
Exceeding margin or cash requirements in the account, clear evidence of insider trading or participation in large-scale market manipulation, and during large rapid market crashes in which all trading can be suspended, not just online accounts.
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
I found the behavior of Robinhood and associated brokers/app carry-through agents to be extremely irresponsible and unfair to retail investors. I decided to move the bulk of my assets after Robinhood allegedly illegally colluded with Hedge Funds and Market Makers to protect those with short positions against securities that were spiking in late January 2021 - there are clear cases, in my view, of insider trading and market manipulation in how trading platforms and market makers interact, and it has fundamentally damaged my confidence in the independence of financial regulatory bodies in the United States. These events have confirmed my existing disgust for the corruption, rule-breaking and special exceptions for wealthy investors or institutions with lots to lose, and gaslighting against retail investors that has been demonstrated in plan view in US financial markets time and again. This kind of blatantly unfair manipulation is terrible for investor confidence, and makes me feel like I am putting my money into a rigged game to which there is no winning move. Why would I invest in a market like this if the SEC fails to act? How can retail investors be at all responsible for the dangerous bets hedge funds and other wealthy actors placed, to the detriment of otherwise healthy businesses and their investors and workers?