Mar. 18, 2023
March 18, 2023 Dear SEC, I am writing to express my support for the proposed SEC Order Regulation NMS: Minimum Pricing Increments, Access Fees, and Transparency of Better Priced Orders. As a retail investor, I believe these changes are necessary to promote transparency, fairness, and competition in the markets. Firstly, I fully endorse the idea of higher fines that serve as a significant deterrent to rule-breaking. I also believe that some broker-dealers should lose their licenses instead of receiving fines that only amount to a cost of doing business. Furthermore, I would willingly pay 12 cents more a share to avoid being routed through a wholesaler that has been charged over 70 times by the United States government. Similarly, I prefer to pay commission to avoid being routed through a wholesaler with a long history of flouting the law like Citadel Securities. I also support the harmonization of tick sizes across all exchanges. All exchanges should quote and trade in the same increments to prevent any unfair advantages or monopolies in certain areas of the market. This is crucial to maintaining a fair and competitive market. In addition, I disapprove of rebates and other inducements in the marketplace as they are simply payment for order flow by another name. Therefore, I would prefer access fees to be reduced to zero with no \"take\". I believe the proposed tick size regime is clear and unambiguous, which is essential for easy enforcement. Vague language should be avoided as it leads to needless litigation and wastes taxpayer dollars. Finally, I strongly support the inclusion of odd lot information in the SIP to provide individual investors with more information to make better investing decisions. Excluding odd lots from the NBBO is a problem as they make up a majority of trades in the markets, and their exclusion amounts to the exclusion of most individual investors. Therefore, I urge you to find a way to fairly and proportionately include odd lots in the calculation of the NBBO. Thank you for considering my comments and taking steps to make the markets fairer and more transparent for all investors. Sincerely, Caleb C.