July 12, 2008
Although I do not pretend to understand why the period for Comments on Amendments to Regulation SHO had to be extended, I feel it is very important to voice our opinions.
A few years ago an SEC employee scoffed at the idea that Naked Short Selling was an issue in our marketplace. She even went so far as to suggest that we were just disgruntled shareholders because our investments did not increase in value.
When I first brought Naked Short Selling to the attention of my co-workers who are professional Portfolio Managers, they thought I was demented. Today, almost daily, I find new articles placed on my desk by these same individuals who are now believers. Now, the terminology is being used by SEC officials, the Congress and mainstream media so some progress has been made, albeit too little too late.
Most of us who invest in the market are hardworking individuals who have invested for many years in order to have a secure retirement. Today, thanks to the unspeakable things that are allowed to happen (such as Cellar Boxing, Failures to Delivers, Desk Trades, Counterfeit shares, etc), our structured saving and investing has been for naught. Retirement which should now be a reality for both my husband and me is now a far off dream. We are not alone in this dilemma.
Why and how did this happen under the watchful eyes of the SEC and DTCC? Aren't you charged with protecting us? Someone (many more than one) dropped the ball and as a result many of us are facing a lifetime of work with no hope of retiring. What is wrong with this picture? What happened to the American Dream? In my opinion, it was a failure of pseudo governmental agencies to do their job and protect the average investor.
Regulation SHO should have been an open and shut case many years ago and the grandfather clause should never have even been considered much less enacted. To add insult to injury we have the uptick rule interfering with a market in which it has no place. Add to all of this the options market making exemption and it easy to see why our markets are a mess. While in school, I learned the many different types of risks involved in the markets but never was incompetence of the overseers a consideration.
Please do what is right and give the American people their markets back with an even playing field. If the brokers and market makers can not play by the rules they need to be severely punished both financially and punitively. It is YOUR JOB to oversee the markets so please make it a priority to get our markets cleaned up. Clean house if need be. If that does not work, turn the function over to those who can get it done in a timely fashion. The future of America and her people depend on it.