Gym Teacher Surgeons
I want you to imagine a scenario. Imagine being sick. Not just a cold. Not the flu. I’m talking about being seriously ill and needing specialized care. You go to a hospital and meet with a doctor who schedules you for surgery. Then, on the day of your surgery, you go to the hospital, are wheeled into the operating room, hooked up to an IV and in walks the doctor. The only thing is, it’s not the doctor you met with. It’s your 7th grade gym teacher who tells you they’ll be doing the surgery today and before you can object, you’re asleep. That’s not all that different from what is happening with the SEC right now.
There are changes to markets being proposed by the head of the SEC. According to him, markets aren’t operating as efficiently as they should. Never mind the fact over the last 30 years, markets have become more efficient than ever. There’s more liquidity than ever. Costs for self-directed retail investors have never been lower. Technology has never been better. And never mind the fact that the head of the SEC has probably never traded on a self-directed trading platform once in his life. He’s going to go ahead and propose changes to markets that will impact you, me and likely put the ability of retail traders to quickly and efficiently participate in markets in jeopardy.
Gary Gensler is an intellectually intelligent guy. He’s well spoken. He’s probably pretty knowledgeable about certain topics. But your gym teacher probably knew something about physical education. They probably knew what they were doing in PE class. But that doesn’t mean you want them taking a scalpel to your body and that’s the metaphorical equivalent of what the SEC, under Mr. Gensler, is doing.
Access to markets, costs, and ways of making markets work better for everyone is an evolutionary process. Things can be improved. But if anyone is going to propose ways of making markets work better, can we please make sure it’s done by people who understand markets at an intimate level?
There is truly no better way to mess something up than to have politicians become involved. Once politicians insert themselves, sadly, it’s no longer about improving anything. More often than not, it’s simply about political grandstanding. It’s about laying the foundation for how that individual will advance their political career.
I don’t think anyone would disagree that there are market-related issues which can and should be improved. I happen to know with certainty that domain experts exist who are more than qualified to address these issues. I also know there are people unqualified who should not become involved in the process. And someone who has never acted as a self-directed retail investor has about as much business making changes to markets as that PE teacher has in the operating room.
tastylive special projects writer Josh Fabian contributed to this article.Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. Please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options before deciding to invest in options.
tastylive content is created, produced, and provided solely by tastylive, Inc. (“tastylive”) and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not, nor is it intended to be, trading or investment advice or a recommendation that any security, futures contract, digital asset, other product, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any person. Trading securities, futures products, and digital assets involve risk and may result in a loss greater than the original amount invested. tastylive, through its content, financial programming or otherwise, does not provide investment or financial advice or make investment recommendations. Investment information provided may not be appropriate for all investors and is provided without respect to individual investor financial sophistication, financial situation, investing time horizon or risk tolerance. tastylive is not in the business of transacting securities trades, nor does it direct client commodity accounts or give commodity trading advice tailored to any particular client’s situation or investment objectives. Supporting documentation for any claims (including claims made on behalf of options programs), comparisons, statistics, or other technical data, if applicable, will be supplied upon request. tastylive is not a licensed financial adviser, registered investment adviser, or a registered broker-dealer. Options, futures, and futures options are not suitable for all investors. Prior to trading securities, options, futures, or futures options, please read the applicable risk disclosures, including, but not limited to, the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options Disclosure and the Futures and Exchange-Traded Options Risk Disclosure found on tastytrade.com/disclosures.
tastytrade, Inc. ("tastytrade”) is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA, NFA, and SIPC. tastytrade was previously known as tastyworks, Inc. (“tastyworks”). tastytrade offers self-directed brokerage accounts to its customers. tastytrade does not give financial or trading advice, nor does it make investment recommendations. You alone are responsible for making your investment and trading decisions and for evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of tastytrade’s systems, services or products. tastytrade is a wholly-owned subsidiary of tastylive, Inc.
tastytrade has entered into a Marketing Agreement with tastylive (“Marketing Agent”) whereby tastytrade pays compensation to Marketing Agent to recommend tastytrade’s brokerage services. The existence of this Marketing Agreement should not be deemed as an endorsement or recommendation of Marketing Agent by tastytrade. tastytrade and Marketing Agent are separate entities with their own products and services. tastylive is the parent company of tastytrade.
tastycrypto is provided solely by tasty Software Solutions, LLC. tasty Software Solutions, LLC is a separate but affiliate company of tastylive, Inc. Neither tastylive nor any of its affiliates are responsible for the products or services provided by tasty Software Solutions, LLC. Cryptocurrency trading is not suitable for all investors due to the number of risks involved. The value of any cryptocurrency, including digital assets pegged to fiat currency, commodities, or any other asset, may go to zero.
© copyright 2013 - 2024 tastylive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Applicable portions of the Terms of Use on tastylive.com apply. Reproduction, adaptation, distribution, public display, exhibition for profit, or storage in any electronic storage media in whole or in part is prohibited under penalty of law, provided that you may download tastylive’s podcasts as necessary to view for personal use. tastylive was previously known as tastytrade, Inc. tastylive is a trademark/servicemark owned by tastylive, Inc.