If you took an outright position trying to game something the SEC told you was the truth then I stand by my statement. Blaming anybody for your bad trade is blatant self denial. Good luck on your journey. Watch your six O`clock and keep losses small until you get "there".
WOW!!!!!!!!!! And I thought 10m was bad for an old business card in a file.:eek: Something's gotta give, as I'm actually watching investors (mom and pops) being harmed by the regulators, not helped. If the loss is small (to the regulators), and their is true financial malpractice, they put the investor through a circus act, then do nothing. Now, if they can get something (politically) out of it, and of course fines, they'll hang around popping in and out for two years. When there is ZERO harm, the Advisor works for a small RIA or Broker for a small B/D, the regulators come in, hang around for a year, and drive the firm nuts with ignorant requests, slowly bleeding them out of business... Only to let the big boys with the big money stay in the game (GS, MER, C, etc.,) as they can afford the fines, and have legal teams on staff to go back and forth playing what I'm seeing as a sick game. Something's gotta give... I FULLY understand why most of you guys here trade only your own money.
We have made tremendous progress with new Inspector Gen of the SEC. He allowed us to talk about the investigatioin into how the SEC investigated the naked shorting scandal; that is what they are doing now. I believe they are really going to do something. But yes. While I was in the God - Awful business, I was scared to death of some witch hunt. I've seen it happen to too many people. It is horrific.
I've got about three more years, and I'm geting out of retail. I LOVE managing people's money, and seeing them get somewhere financially because of my help. I'm performance-based, so I've got to perform. Not just draw a fee, and send them a statement from a 3rd party money manager. I DESPISE the current regulatory mess, as well as what CNBC, and the other big news outfits have done to mix up would-be/should-be savers to the point of constant panic and worry. Even in 06, the "breaking news" sensationalism caused people to do some really dumb stuff with their money. I wonder what the future holds for my generation, as the financial confusion is rampant, no one is saving, they're "still spending money on shit they don't need with money they don't have," i.e., the 18% c/c. (George Carlin) Guys in their late 30's with ALL of their money in CD's because "we aren't losing any money. We saw ___, and ____ on the news..." It's tough out here right now. I'm not much of a salesperson either, and that's what many "Advisors" have sadly become... Hopefully I can trade my own account in about three years. Btw, thanks for the information on the regulators! Good stuff!
In the vein of our quest to villify the 'Captured SEC", here's my boy explaining what is happening. BTW, there isn't a day that goes by I'm not shocked by things coming to light. Today was another of those days. Whew! This doesn't end soon. http://www.startupstoryradio.com/implications-of-short-selling-with-patrick-byrne-of-overstockcom/ Gary Aguirre is NOT going away.
Wall street's largest Market makers were in collusion and were making sure each firm had a built in per share profit of about 1 16th of a point......this was brought to light in the 17a report...the Remedy? * They enacted Decimalization and OATS rules and began "levying big fines against alll firms that violated OATS" The Result: The largest market making firms no longer had a built in profit of 1/16th of a point...Intead they have basically a 1-2 cent per share profit and about 5 times the volume they use to have because all the small MM firms have been driven out of business becuase of the cost of OATS and other regulatory burdens that force smaller firms to stop sending you orders for fear of violating these rules. ...Imagine your the mafia...every month you collect 3000.000 from a ship builder in exchange for 'providing labor protection"...the Fed comes in and makes the Mob stop doing this but allows them to have an exclusive contract for all ship builders that will pay them 5000 per month for 'screening" potential laborers......did you really crack down on the mob or make their life better??? Lets call this Part 1...more to come.
small MM firms have been driven out of business becuase of the cost of OATS and other regulatory burdens that force smaller firms to stop sending you orders for fear of violating these rules. --------------------------- TM, Do you think this was an unintended consequence? The reason I ask is because I have noticed other situations where "fear" is playing a larger role in the operation of businesses. We have "regulations" then we have "fear". The fear factor has always been there but it seems to be in favor of the larger cos. The smaller cos have more to lose, or it isn't worth it, as in this case. Getting back to your post. Considering every possible scenario when planning a change, someone may have forseen this consequence.
You are dealing with the laws of hunting and injustice. Put simply it is much easier for the SEC to take down small or smaller prey. You get the gratifcation of a 'Kill' with little or no fight back. If your quarry is a larger or large corporation it has the power of using expensive attornies to either hold you up or expose some of your weaknesses as the hunter. Its all about 'show'. You take down who you can take down. It has little or nothing to do with 'justice' or the 'good of society'. Its seems that people go through life without learning that good and evil is decided by yourself personally. The law enforces the law; that does not have to mean it is enforcing justice. Sometimes it is injustice. This is because civilisation broadly is only a mere 5,000 years old; it has a long way to go yet.
Part II The largest firms on the street were telling the American Public that they liked WCOM and ENRON at these levels while they were internally dumping their holdings...When the SEC/FINRA finally got around to investigate ( Elliot Spitzer was the 1st)..they were stone walled and E-mails were deleted and destroyed... One famous analyst even said in an e-mail " lets put some lipstick on this pig" ( referring to enron i believe) minutes after he put out a press release claiming he liked the stock at these levels... REMEDY: All FINRA firms must archive their e-mails in a specific format that is costly, burdensome and requires a lot of time and energy.. RESULT: As with OATS...Go look up how many fines have been levied upon small brokerage firms across the country to the tune of 10,25, even 200k!!! The larger firms? Believe it or not it is a KNOWN fact that the e-mails of everyone at CITI, MER and GS to name a few WERE Already in that format....they just didn't want to give the SEC/NASD the damn e-mails..so more firms now suffer and go out of business due to " regulation" part III anyone? lets talk about TRACE
My serious advice would be to those in corporate power to disable and ban the e-mail facility within their commercial or public companies. Its inevitable that some employees, even directors, are going to make incautious remarks which in the hands of the SEC or in front of a court will be held to characterise your organization, its chiefs or you as criminal or culpable. You simply cannot afford that chance in the first place. You cannot control a lot of dumb shit some employees will vent via e-mail so do without e-mail. In this world you alone are responsible for your fate. Do not allow others to mess with that, directly or indirectly. At best human nature is fickle. So prevent the malice or stupidity of others doing you harm. So instead you can talk directly with others in your organization. Use Memos from authorised personnel to give any basic guidelines within the organization. Have a strict code to ensure legal content only.