Oh, ok, because I was referring to this post... https://www.elitetrader.com/et/thre...wsuit-and-petition-finra.320585/#post-4645805
I texted a buddy who is a securities attorney (University of Chicago) about some of the legal claims and injuries cited in this thread. ( I sent him a few screenshots ). I think he sent me every laughing emoji currently known as a reply. If (highly unlikely) a party could prevail on 5th or 14th Amendment grounds against the SEC the result would be meaningless - FINRA, NASD, and NYSE are SRO’s and they can set their own equity and risk rules. And for that matter Brokers can set more conservative margin and capital requirements. Bottom line is it’s not your constitutional right to gamble with leverage provided gratis by your broker and the exchange. If the $25K amount was overbearing he felt that with all of the political clout the trading exchanges and Wall Street possessed that it wouldn’t be a big ask to change the rule.
Now that was a mistake, you're next on the list of people our friend @iceman1 goes apeshit on for having the temerity to point out the lack of grounds for his supposed lawsuit he's been threatening for years
Small traders don't need leverage. Small traders just need to be able to trade. Without waiting for THEIR money to "settle" whatever that actually means. Computers do all the bookkeeping and they can do it nearly instantly, literally. A cash account, as the existing rules define it and regulate it, does not truly allow the trader to trade his full account, in a realistic sense. If I have $20k or $10k or $5k and I want to keep it all in play, without using the broker's money or other traders' money I should be able to do so. If I am not specifically interested in day trading but I want to close a position before the end of the day because it is turning against me, I should not have to hold it and suffer a big loss overnight. So my suggestion is to allow day trading but not trading on margin. Not sure what to do exactly about short-side trades. Maybe limit short selling to $25k+ accounts? I don't know about that. Some smart guy can figure that out. I didn't even finish high school, much less collect half the alphabet to tag after my name. But you should be able to buy whatever stock you can afford to buy, and you should be able to sell it when you decide it should be sold. Maybe a new class of account should be created just for long-side day traders under $25k. That isn't risking anybody's money except that BELONGING to the trader. We are supposed to be an egalitarian, all-inclusive society. This is America. We are supposed to be different. We are supposed to uplift the common man or at least leave the way open for him to uplift himself. We should not be erecting barriers to those who want to engage in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. An underclass of peons exists, always will exist, and probably needs to exist. But upward mobility should always be a possibility, limited only by the determination, ability, and resourcefulness of the individual. PDT is a deliberate additional handicap on the less affluent. PDT should address only the fair and realistic concerns of the rich and powerful, not the elitism and exclusionism I am seeing. I has spoken. "And then Growley sayeth unto Pharaoh, 'Let My People TRADE!'"
While you at it why not sue for 401K broker account can not short stocks. Very unfair! I can use options, futures but not shorting, why? It is UNAMERICAN!
And why can't retail investors trade credit default swaps? The founding fathers would be turning in their graves if they knew!
No, but you can sell your stocks and move into other names or fixed income. Not being able to short in 401K’s probably saved investors a trillion dollars or more the past decade alone.
No irony at all. I sold stocks in December 2019 that I had bought since 2000 and bought STIRS - did the reverse in March on half the balance. Sector rotation works really well in a 401K.
Most here wouldn't know an insightful post if it hit them in the head. Everything else in this thread aside.... your quote above should go into the Hall of Fame forum down below. Quotes don't go down there I guess, but what you wrote.... as insightful as anything you'll ever read here.