I strongly oppose restrictions on my right to invest in public investments such as leveraged and inverse funds. I use these funds as a hedge to help diversify and protect my other investments. Im concerned that government intervention in these financial instruments will destroy their ability to provide safety and protection to my investment portfolio.
Investing can be very dangerous. Investing in the wrong thing at the wrong time can be catastrophic for any investor. This is true of stocks, options, bonds, real estate, mutual funds, commodities, currencies, leveraged/inverse funds, and any other asset class. How does it make sense to single out one particular asset class for harsh regulation and ignore the inherent risks in the others? Should people be warned away from buying houses because real estate prices crashed in 2008? Should they be warned away from investing in stocks because the market crashed in the early 2000s and again in 2008? That would be ridiculous. Any asset class can crash.
Some of the greatest investing lessons I ever learned came from my loss of $20K on an options purchase when I was in my late twenties. That taught me the difference between investing and speculation. It taught me that even if youre right about something being over- or under-valued, an irrational price on an asset can persist for a much longer time than you might think. Losing that money hurt. Lessons from the school of hard knocks always do, but the nice thing about them is that you never forget them.
I hope youll grant people the respect and autonomy to invest freely, without arbitrary restrictions and regulations on their investment choices. Being a responsible adult means learning how to take measured risks, paying the price when they dont work out, and enjoying the rewards when they do. I dont want the government to protect people from free markets. I want people to be able to invest freely as healthy, risk-taking adults who sometimes win and sometimes lose.
Thank you for allowing me to express my opinion In this matter.
Brian Schiel Comment On Regulatory Notice 22-08
I strongly oppose restrictions on my right to invest in public investments such as leveraged and inverse funds. I use these funds as a hedge to help diversify and protect my other investments. Im concerned that government intervention in these financial instruments will destroy their ability to provide safety and protection to my investment portfolio.
Investing can be very dangerous. Investing in the wrong thing at the wrong time can be catastrophic for any investor. This is true of stocks, options, bonds, real estate, mutual funds, commodities, currencies, leveraged/inverse funds, and any other asset class. How does it make sense to single out one particular asset class for harsh regulation and ignore the inherent risks in the others? Should people be warned away from buying houses because real estate prices crashed in 2008? Should they be warned away from investing in stocks because the market crashed in the early 2000s and again in 2008? That would be ridiculous. Any asset class can crash.
Some of the greatest investing lessons I ever learned came from my loss of $20K on an options purchase when I was in my late twenties. That taught me the difference between investing and speculation. It taught me that even if youre right about something being over- or under-valued, an irrational price on an asset can persist for a much longer time than you might think. Losing that money hurt. Lessons from the school of hard knocks always do, but the nice thing about them is that you never forget them.
I hope youll grant people the respect and autonomy to invest freely, without arbitrary restrictions and regulations on their investment choices. Being a responsible adult means learning how to take measured risks, paying the price when they dont work out, and enjoying the rewards when they do. I dont want the government to protect people from free markets. I want people to be able to invest freely as healthy, risk-taking adults who sometimes win and sometimes lose.
Thank you for allowing me to express my opinion In this matter.