Mar. 07, 2023
SEC, Thank you for considering feedback from an individual investor. Lack of enforcement nullifies any rule that the SEC passes. When companies can make profits that are 5, 10, or 100 times larger than the fines they receive it creates a sense that fines are just a cost of doing business for these firms. This creates a severe lack of trust from individual investors that commission considers our interests at all. There should be actual deterrents for these firms to abide by rules laid out by the Commission. a loss of licenses or removing their ability to trade is a more appropriate deterrent considering the amounts of money these firms make. I would happily pay higher prices or a commission for my shares to avoid being routed through wholesalers that clearly do not have my best interest in mind, and often times have incentives to not give me the best price. I 100% support the harmonization of tick sizes across all exchanges. It is extremely discouraging to learn that some exchanges get special treatment and the ability to build monopolies in some areas of the market. Monopolies kill the benefits of competition and severely reduce fairness, especially for individual investors. Payment for order flow is another arrangement that works to the benefit of large firms like Citadel at the expense of individual investors. Rebates and other forms of inducement are simply payment for order flow in different clothes. I believe the tick size regime proposed by the commission would create a fairer market and I support any structure that is clear and does not use vague language. Vague language leaves room for interpretation and loop holes. This eventually leads to an inability to enforce rules and punishments. The commission could use tax dollars far more efficiently than wasting time in litigation. I also believe the inclusion of the odd lot information in the SIP creates fairer markets and I encourage the Commission’s efforts to provide individual investors with more information. This allows investors to make better decisions like who I allow to handle my order. If the commission were to remove odd lot information from this rule it would be yet another reason for me to lose faith in the U.S. markets. Odd lots are now a majority of trades in the markets, and the vast majority for some stocks. Removal of odd lot information essentially excludes individual investors from affecting stocks price. I have worked hard to provide opportunity for my family, and it is hard to watch the voice of individual Americans be silenced or ignored so blatantly. Corporate interests are killing the American dream and the finance industry is the perfect example of this. Once again, thank you for your efforts and consideration. David Maddux