The SEC, Mary Schapiro, FINRA, Penny Stocks …The Opposite of Investing for Profit and Joy

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  • on December 2nd, 2012

In October we held ‘Stocktoberfest’ a conference on ‘Investing for Profit and Joy.

There were sessions on Momentum, Bonds, Technical Analysis, Banking and Lending and even Startups.

There was no talk of Mary Schapiro, Penny Stocks, the SEC or Finra. We could spend months talking about the four subjects and it would all be a waste of time.

Mary Schapiro did us a favor recently by stepping down from the SEC. Her claim to fame in office, overseeing $2.6 billion in fines …basically one AirBnb. She basically fined ALL OF WALL STREET (at the height of their thieveing ways) one Silicon Valley startup. In other words she did squat. As did the SEC.

We don’t need more rules btw…that’s not the point of this post.

Here is the opening of the SEC mission (straight from their website …which probably does not render on a mobile phone…but i digress):

The mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.

As more and more first-time investors turn to the markets to help secure their futures, pay for homes, and send children to college, our investor protection mission is more compelling than ever.

As our nation’s securities exchanges mature into global for-profit competitors, there is even greater need for sound market regulation.

WTF!!! The SEC has not done ANY of this for as long as I can remember. With respect to capital formation, they tried to squash Angellist, a company all about accredited investors and simple effective capital formation.

I can tell you what first time investors need:

1. The ability to quickly open a Schwab, Fidelity or Ameritrade Account.

2. The ability to make easy dollar cost average deposits to such accounts and Vanguard funds or other simple index funds directly from their paychecks.

3. Education – dollar cost averaging, keeping costs down, the risks of penny stocks, the risk of penny stocks, the risk of penny stocks….

The SEC is pathetic on all these counts.

Americans are busy. Read Josh’s post about our structural wage problem and you will see we are about to get busier.

The stock market was created to help companies raise capital and hire people to grow. Now, it’s about large financial departments working the balance sheet to keep money from the government and fair wages from employees (of course this is a bit extreme as many great executives do not get caught up in this game).

‘Promoted’ Penny Stocks…a sector of the stock market that should not even EXIST, lost 93 percent of their value. They lose value because the companies are not built to financially succeed. Mathematically they are built to fail.

The banks are creepier than ever. Barclay’s just placed the first order of any ‘bank’ for Ipads (8,500 of them). They are further behind the technological wave than ever, with their blackberries and controlled terminals.

Over on FINRA’s website, we are told about regulation and protection, protection and regulation…..CRAP.

All that money wasted to protect the unprotectable. Layers and layers of lies, shit and waste. Your LPL, Ameriprise and Merrill Lynch advisor can’t get on the internet from their office, but Apple, Google and Facebook supplied nearly 50 percent of the whole of S&P 500′s profits.

For me, the advantages have never been greater.

As we head into 2013, there is no unsophisticated and sophisticated investor line.

You are not being protected either.

It’s you and your hard earned money.

Start respecting it.

The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.

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