Mar. 25, 2023
March 25, 2023 Hello, I am writing in support of the Order Competition Rule. As an individual investor, I am reliant on the SEC to ensure that the practices of--and execution of my investments by--brokers, market makers, wholesalers, and other involved parties are enforced to an unimpeded standard of fairness. 15 U.S.C. 78k-1 states that \"It is in the public interest and appropriate for the protection of investors and the maintenance of fair and orderly markets to assure ... fair competition among brokers and dealers, among exchange markets, and between exchange markets and markets other than exchange markets.\" The Commission notes that 90% of marketable orders of individual investors in NMS stocks to a small group of six off-exchange dealers, and 66% are captured by just two firms. Those figures could be even higher for specific stocks. The state of American markets is plainly anti-competitive, and that needs to change. This proposed rule is a crucial step in that direction. The market consists of many large, established parties with vast and immensely complex relationships I am a single person. I dislike middlemen, and I do not like allowing opportunities for people to use my financial decisions as a chance to potentially profiteer because they can leverage their influence and position in an uneven market. This rule is an important step in making the market more equitable by making large players compete for orders. I appreciate the advocacy on behalf of small investors that this rule would provide. A market with dominant parties exercising outsized influence leads to monopolization - that is antithetical to the market's purported purpose. Please make this rule a reality to help combat such monopolies taking root or continuing. Thank you for your time.