Mar. 31, 2023
To whom it may concern: It's absolutely ridiculous that brokers are only expected to act as agents for their customers and have a loose obligation to provide Best Execution based on common law agency principles and fiduciary obligations. FINRA's Best Execution rule is a joke - it's about time the SEC enforces a stricter rule. But what's the point of having a rule when these "conflicted orders" are allowed to continue? It's no surprise that these brokers will just send orders wherever they can make the most profit, regardless of the best interests of their clients. It's infuriating that PFOF is still allowed in the US despite being banned in the UK due to conflict-of-interest concerns. And while they didn't explicitly ban PFOF, they made it clear that it's not consistent with best execution. But here in the US, we're still allowing market makers to create their own definitions of PFOF arrangements and get away with it. FINRA's targeted exam to evaluate the impact of not charging commissions on member firms' order-routing practices is long overdue. But why keep the findings to themselves? They should be made public as soon as they're available so that investors can see how these firms are really operating. Thank you, Michael