Mar. 19, 2023
To Whom It May Concern: As an individual retail investor, I support the proposed rule file #S-7-32-22 change to protect my funds from brokers, banks, market makers, and any other organization that commits malpractice or fraud. I am incredibly frustrated with the lack of transparency in the market. Brokers (e.g.: Citadel, Virtu) use a “price improvement scheme” to attract order flow by claiming to offer the best trades in the market, but often they do not provide the best practice available. This allows them to gain order flow without needing to pay for it. I am concerned that they may selectively apply the price improvement to benefit themselves. I cannot believe that there are so many conflicts of interest in our stock market, with self-regulation and small fines for infractions. By the way, these small fines are often justified by these brokers as a “cost of doing business.” The playing field is severely unveiled, with some big players controlling the prices of equities. Market markers simply have too much power and can decide if the price of a stock goes up or down, through channels like dark pools. Simply put, this isn’t fair for individual retail investors. The SEC has a duty to enforce best execution and to ensure brokers provide TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY for their practices. Without best execution, I may be paying higher transaction prices. Different trading venues may offer different prices, slower execution can lead to missed opportunities, and less reliable settlement processes can delay receipt of proceeds. I’m pleased to hear about the proposed Regulation Best Execution rule, which would establish a more comprehensive and specific standard for broker-dealers to follow, resulting in more reliable and contentment best execution practices. This is a step in the right direction and I give my full support. I truly feel that this is an important step in safeguarding individual investors like myself, and promoting fair and efficient markets by ensuring that we receive the best possible execution for our trades. Quarterly reviews at execution quality would provide transparency and accountability for broker-dealers’ practices, giving me more confidence in the market. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your consideration. I appreciate the opportunity to express my concerns and urge the SEC to adopt this rule change to ensure a fair and equal trading environment for every household investor in the market. Regards, Roxanne Barrionuevo