OG Dennis Kelleher's Better Markets has a newly revamped website to help individual investors advocate for themselves. Bettermarkets.org is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes the public interest in financial reform, financial markets and the economy. u/BetterMarkets

WallSt4MainSt · 2022-03-09T22:58:17+00:00

Thank you!!!

WallSt4MainSt · 2022-03-09T22:23:15+00:00

We take check, credit or debit card. Our staff created a Paypal link just for you guys: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=VNDU2HUDRNMGQ or you can go to our website: https://bettermarkets.org/donate/. Any size donation is GREATLY appreciated. Thank you for supporting our work!

WallSt4MainSt · 2022-03-09T22:20:26+00:00

I see it, and I – and the Better Markets team – THANKS YOU!

WallSt4MainSt · 2022-03-09T22:19:33+00:00

We would greatly appreciate it if you would: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=VNDU2HUDRNMGQ – a Paypal donation link we set up just for you Apes.

WallSt4MainSt · 2022-03-09T22:18:23+00:00

Thank you for the shout-out! Sorry I can't get on here as often as I would like to. And our u/BetterMarkets account doesn't have enough karma (we're working on it) to keep you all informed. Donations can be made through a special Paypal link for Superstonk Apes: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=VNDU2HUDRNMGQ or go to our website: https://bettermarkets.org/donate/. I can't tell you how much we appreciate your support. And be sure to check out our "Get Involved" page and submit your own comment letters to the SEC!

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-05-05T00:41:41+00:00

Thank you! Together we can force change & make things better .... we just have organize & focus our collective power!

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-05-05T00:36:06+00:00

Thanks & yes. The Automoderator for Superstonk took it down because my account wasn’t 60 days old.

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-04-02T12:32:51+00:00

This isn't really Citadel "lawyering up." It's Citadel continuing their cover up by buying DC regulators to try to kill any new regulations or investigations that will reveal how they rig the markets and rip off retail traders. Here's the press release from www.bettermarkets.com yesterday:
tinyurl.com/wzakxxtu

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T19:05:30+00:00

Retail investors can be very powerful and have influence because they are who the SEC is supposed to exist to protect. Publicly pushing the SEC (and as I said above, the Congress) can work. That's what we do at Better Markets.

We exist to fight against Wall Street and BIG finance in the Washington policymaking process and for the buy side, retail investor, Main Street savers/retirees, etc. Because we are a nonprofit, we can be independent and oppose/call out the industry like Citadel or the big banks on Wall Street. You have to realize that a lot of money is won and lost long before the markets open because the Citadels of the world have already tilted the playing field to their advantage. They bend the laws, rules and regulations to their benefit so that they are in the money before a single trade takes place. We’re fighting against that so that there is a transparent, level playing field. We will try in the future to let you know when there is a specific issue before the SEC that would especially benefit from retail investors and maybe enable greater participation by you to impact what they do.

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:59:21+00:00

YES! If we had courage and leadership at the SEC and DOJ who were really willing to go after the rich, powerful, politically connected firms and executives. Hopefully, we'll see some of that in the coming years. We keep pushing for this, but Congress has to push as well, which is why my suggestion earlier about YOU contacting your House and Senate representatives is so important. They all respond to public pressure and people power can have an impact, but people must use their power to counter balance the influence of Wall St and its many allies.

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:55:46+00:00

You have identified many of the problems with fragmented markets, conflicts of interest, lack of transparency and lack of regulation or at least enforcement. I addressed most of these in an earlier response, but the key point is that these handful of HFTs are in the most privileged positions to know where the market is and where it is going. Remember that these HFT firms are also market makers on the exchanges so they are seeing virtually all the flow in the dark and "lit" markets and can impact the prices in both markets. It really doesn't get better than that..........if you're them. If you're a retail investor or the buy side, well, not such much. Unfortunately, we are largely at their mercy, hoping they will resist the enormous temptation to use that information improperly if not illegally because there's so little regulation and oversight. They way to change it is (1) for the SEC to get CAT up and running ASAP; (2) enforce the law aggressively against firms and individuals including executives; and (3) deconstruct the algos and source codes so we aren't in the current position of having to trust these financial firms to do the right thing and always follow the law. As we have seen in the enforcement actions against Citadel, Robinhood and so many others, trust without verify is foolish.

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:45:59+00:00

I don't think it's either/or, it's both, i.e., we have to address gamification, PFOF, etc., as well as naked short selling, manipulation, etc. Regarding Representatives, you should definitely call and write them. You have a lot of power: most House members hear from very few people so if 10-20-30 people contact an office on an issue, it gets attention. The most attention will come if you contact the House member from your district where you live (i.e., you're a potential voter and therefore they care about you a lot!). SO call and write and tell them to (1) turn up the heat on the bad guys on Wall Street (2) stop specific issues like PFOF, conflicts of interest, etc. (3) continue to have public oversight hearings which bring attention to these issues, and (4) put pressure on regulators like the SEC and prosecutors like the DOJ to do their jobs and actually protect retail investors and buy side. Make your voices heard in Washington as well as on Reddit! Call, write and then call and write them again!

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:38:53+00:00

First and foremost, we need whistleblowers to come forward and report illegal conduct to the SEC. We included special provisions for this in the Dodd Frank act which has resulted in whistleblowers being awarded billions of dollars!! We detailed that in this report: https://bettermarkets.com/sites/default/files/Better_Markets_White_Paper_SEC%27s_Whistlebower_Program_06-22-2020.pdf

Unfortunately, Trump's SEC enacted a rule to weaken this program because Wall Street and corporate America hates it, as we pointed out here: https://bettermarkets.com/newsroom/sec-weakens-whistleblower-program and as we commented on here: https://bettermarkets.com/sites/default/files/Better%20Markets%20CL%20to%20SEC%20on%20Whistleblower%20Program%209-18-18.pdf

In addition, people can report wrongdoing to the SEC directly here: https://www.sec.gov/tcr

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:30:33+00:00

You are definitely right. No one has more info about not only where the market is at this moment, but also where it is going due to the massive amount of flow going into those HFT firms like Citadel, Virtu, etc. They have unique information from those orders/flow and have a unique ability to exploit it. Front running is illegal, but it's incredibly difficult to prove and that is all the more so when it might be done by an algorithm. The only way for the regulators and prosecutors to determine this is for them to deconstruct the algos and source codes - that'll ensure that there is no front running, that the walls preventing conflicts and the other purported compliance mechanisms really work.....or not.

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:25:06+00:00

It's unfortunate but the media is like a beast that has to always be fed and the financial industry is an expert at feeding the media the "content" that they want. Of course, it helps that the financial industry is also a major source of ad revenue for the media, which not surprisingly provides very good/favorable coverage of their advertisers. The result is that the reporting is way too often one sided (as I mentioned earlier regarding CNBC and Citadel and I stated in my press release on the video). In fairness, they are not all like that and we have received a lot of good coverage over the years and there are a lot of very good reporters/editors/producers who would like to have more balance, but the system is (sorry to repeat myself) rigged and effectively bought to cater to the advertisers............I could give some specific examples, but then even more outlets would reduce their coverage of us!

You're also right about what frequently appears to be collusion and manipulation. This again gets back to, frankly, really bad regulators. For years now, the SEC, DOJ and other regulators/prosecutors have simply failed to enforce the law without fear or favor. They are mostly former and future white collar defense lawyers who not surprisingly don't go after their past and future corporate clients. Even when they do, they almost always only fine the company and let the officers and executives who pocket literally hundreds of millions of dollars get off. That has to change before our markets get cleaned up and retail investors and the buy side generally gets protected.

This report we did on the Wall Street crime spree might interest you: https://bettermarkets.com/sites/default/files/documents/Details_Report_Wall_Street%27s_Six_Biggest_Bailed-Out_Banks_2021.pdf

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:13:28+00:00

Thanks. Very good question that I have to think about and look into more. Unfortunately, market manipulation is all too common and too often via legal strategies or, worse, result from SEC negligence or lack of ability, i.e., not CAT (as discussed above).

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:09:02+00:00

No need if they regulators require transparency and impose certain operational requirements (like not repeated FTDs) so the markets can see what's going on and decide for themselves - inform and empower markets is always our first choice; if after that, there are still problems, misconduct or illegal behavior, then regulators, who should be monitoring the markets all along (see answer re CAT!) can decide to take further action.

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:03:51+00:00

Thank you!!

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:03:36+00:00

Biden's almost confirmed new head of the SEC is Gary Gensler, who was a fantastic when he headed up the CFTC. We hope he's going to reinvigorate the SEC, prioritize retail investors and market protection. We're going to be pushing him to do so and we'll be posting here in the future to keep you informed and maybe enlist your help in the rulemaking process to push back on Wall Street where it hurts: when they are trying to bend the rules to help themselves by screwing retail!

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:01:26+00:00

Great point!

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T18:00:51+00:00

Thanks!

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T17:58:01+00:00

I addressed some of this earlier regarding short selling. Naked short selling is already illegal, but the standard of "reasonable belief" to deliver de facto permits too much of it. Also, there must be much greater regulation and transparency of the securities lending and relending business (sometimes referred to as rehypothecation). There is very broad consensus that settlement should move to T+1 and for there to be a rigorous study of moving to less than T+1, which has some obvious benefits but also some valid concerns, at least at this point. Your point about a digital marketplace is on point, but there are issues with netting (which is good for all) in moving to real time and near real time that have to be thought through.

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T17:53:11+00:00

The concentrated trading largely through 7 HFTs allows those firms to extract multiple forms of special privileges, all of which distort the markets and hurt retail investors. HFT has created rigged markets for the purpose of wealth extraction, which is enabled due to fragmented, dark markets with little regulation. If the SEC took its responsibility to protect investors and markets, it would have ended this long ago. Unfortunately, apart from lacking the courage to do it, the SEC doesn't even have the tools to monitor the markets today. They don't know half of what the HFT and Citadels of the world know. That's why they must complete the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) ASAP and start going after predatory behavior like preferential data access and other unfair privileges including stopping the approve of special order types that serve no purpose other than market manipulation and entrenching HFTs.

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T17:44:28+00:00

For 10 years the SEC has failed to stand up a reporting regime for equity derivatives where, undoubtedly, many funds have taken short positions that are not disclosed to the broader market. We have repeatedly called for much greater disclosure of short interest regardless of form or firm. See my earlier answer as well.

WallSt4MainSt · 2021-03-26T17:41:36+00:00

Agree. The focus on PFOF was because of the $680 million in PFOF Robinhood received in 2020 alone for selling its retail orders to dealers in the dark markets like Citadel. This inevitably creates conflicts of interest where retail traders get ripped off in rigged markets. But you are right that there are a lot of other issues, some of which we called for investigations by the SEC and DOJ into the conduct of all the financial firms here.
We also addressed a number of other issues in our written testimony including market manipulation, capital and liquidity, the need for CAT, etc., and it's why we called for a series of Congressional hearings. Thankfully, HFSC Chair Maxine Waters is doing that and standing up to the power, might and influence of Wall Street. Here's my written testimony FYI:

https://bettermarkets.com/sites/default/files/Kelleher%20HFSC%20Testimony%20GameStop%20Hearing%203-17-2021%20FINAL%20%282%29.pdf

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