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David Webber Comment On Regulatory Notice 22-08

David Webber
N/A

I am extremely disappointed to hear about yet another regulation to come from this already overreaching authority. I am an individual investor and these leveraged products have played an important role in my portfolio for over a decade. I have used them to both limit my risk and to enhance returns. As an example, I wanted exposure to the S&P 500 but also wanted to hedge a portion of my portfolio with gold to protect against the ongoing runaway spending by our government. I was able to take half of what I wanted in the S&P 500 and put it into a gold ETF and the other half into the 2x S&P leveraged fund. During that time, the 2x S&P has increased dramatically providing even more gains than if I would have had if I was just invested in the regular S&P 500 while I was able to also hold the gold ETF which afforded me the inflation risk mitigation I was looking for in my portfolio. I rebalance my 2x fund regularly and have never had more than a 20% exposure to leveraged ETFs because I believe a diversified portfolio is paramount to investment success. I understand these 2x funds are often used for short term trading because periods of increased market volatility can reduce results dramatically for someone holding these funds for longer periods but with proper management, these funds have been key to portfolio success for me. I wouldnt have achieved the same level of portfolio success without them. Taking away this option would have resulted in lower investment earnings over these years and higher levels of risk. Please do not take away our ability to use these products or impose new rules to be able to trade them. Building wealth should not just be for the privileged but should be available to everyone so others can achieve the same level of portfolio success that I have.