Aug. 16, 2022
August 16, 2022 Dear SEC, As a retail investor I feel like I'm always in the position of least power in our current monetary system. The rules proposed in S7-18-21 can start to tip the balances in the other direction though. - Increased transparency is always a good thing. When activities and transactions are in the dark it's easy to hide what is happening and obfuscate positions and leverages. - The transaction by transaction reporting would be extremely beneficial because then the aggregate information cannot be used to hide specific instances of imbalanced advantageous positioning. - This ties in to the 15 minute reporting requirement nicely. In this day and age of computerized and digital transactions, there's no reason why information that will eventually be public stay hidden for so long. Any increased costs are justifiable because otherwise there will be fraud and bad faith actors taking advantage of any loophole possible. - There are many perspectives on short selling which can be argued. But in the case where we do allow it, I believe that any rules which clearly expose what is happening is a good thing. This helps me feel more confident in my investment and to better understand what is happening in the market by the big and small players. I hope you will consider these comments in the decision-making process and that individual investors will not be left out in the cold on these important topics.