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 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?
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 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):
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
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.)
Started out with a brokerage account through Robinhood and it felt like it was more about aesthetics and gamifying stock trading than useful research tools. After they turned off the buy button on certain stocks in January, I started looking closer at Fidelity, as they were the broker for my 401k. I transferred all my stocks out of Robinhood to Fidelity, as I felt the information they provided was more useful, and am happy I made that choice.
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.)
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 : 2-5 Years
Bonds : None
Options : None
Mutual Funds : 5+ Years
ETFs : 1-2 Years
Futures : None
Cryptocurrencies : 1-2 Years
Commodities : None
ClosedEnd Funds : None
Money Market Funds : 1-2 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?
Three good faith violations in a 12-month period (basically day trading without cash available), cash liquid violation (paying for stock with proceeds from the sale of other owned stocks after the initial stock has been purchased) , and freeriding (paying for a stock with proceeds from the sale of it)
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
After spending the last 9 months or so trying to learn more about the stock market in general after feeling cheated due to the inability to sell certain stocks through Robinhood in January, it feels like individual retail traders are at a severe disadvantage in the market compared to hedge funds and institutional traders namely as a result of PFOF (payment for order flow) and dark pools. Both of these prevent retail traders from getting the best price when buying and selling stocks, and in some cases even appears to suppress the true cost of certain stocks.