From: Terry Benichou [terry-b@adelphia.net] |
Sir, I am a retail investor, Pattern day trader, with an account at Ameritrade. I have confirmed with Ameritrade that when I place a short sell limit order on the stock market (Nasdaq usually), this order is marked from the time I place it to the time it gets to the market as a Short sell, and is therefore visible by professionals as such. I think this is unfair competition that this information is available to some (those to whom my order is routed outside of ameritrade) and not to me. when I see the level 2 order book for stock XYZ, there is no distinction made between regular sells and short sells. I believe other retail brokers dont provide this information either, and I now understand that those who have it have an enormous advantage, which translates into retail investors being literally defrauded by the professionals. I believe that this information is sensitive enough to provide an unfair advantage to some, and is not accessible by a lot. There is not even a way for me to access this information. My suggestion is that this information (nature of an order) should be made available by all brokers at the same level as the price/quantity information. Best regards, Terry Benichou |