April 26, 2007
I do a great deal of study in the short sale area and have for 38 years. I see things that others miss, by the nature of my work. Under the existing SHO regulations, I am convinced there is widespread abuse of the marketmaker exemptions by marketmakers, prime brokers, and hedge fund collusion to the point that the regular investors have been, and are now increasingly in an adverse position in managing their investments. This is at the same time a "gift period for abuses" for wall street, SIA, and other affiliations. I am particularly distressed that the FTD situation is allowed to go on. This is literally an act of stealing and fraud and citizens are eventually going to see it that way. There is only one reason why individual investors are threatened by this , and that is the "special interest" favoritism given by politicians to wall street. I see this abuse approaching a level that suggests that the SEC is not functioning for its original intended purpose. If we can't do a better job than this, let's save the taxpayer's money. I have been told that the special interest problems are in the SEC upper levels, while there are good and honest SEC people in the lower echelons of the SEC. It's time our retirement funds were given much more serious protection. Either clean this situation up, or the average person is going to leave the market, and that will, imo, have serious longer term implications for politicians. Investors will not tolerate politicians and special interests messing with their pocketbooks for long. This letter is intended to be strong, because otherwise no one pays attention and does anything about these serious problems.