Comment Text:
i0-001
COMMENT
CL-02012
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Patrick M.
Thursday, January 21, 2010 5:20 PM
secretary
Regulation of Retail Forex
RIN 3038-AC61
Just wanted to pass along my voice in opposition of the 10:1 margin requirement for US residents
trading in the forex market.
To whomever is reading this now: please consider your salary over a year's time -- now please consider
it reduced by literally an order of magnitude. From 100 cents on the dollar to 10 cents on the dollar.
Would you be comfortable with this arrangement?
10:1 will break the way that I trade, and ifI have to take my business out of the US economy in order to
fix what you break, I will do so. I promise you that I will seek offshore options if the CFTC does not
provide me with an equitable and globally competitive marketplace. It is likely that these options will be
less thoroughly regulated than the New York based brokerage that I prefer. If the CFTC's goal is to
provide safety and security to US traders, then scaring them into the hinterlands is a bad way to do that.
May I humbly suggest that your regulation be the following: Brokers should offer an introductory
leverage of 10:1, with a maximum of 100:1 at the later discretion of the client. After an account has been
approved, the client should be allowed to personally contact their broker, via phone, fax, or email, and
adjust his or her default leverage to upwards of 100:1 within one to three business days. This protects
naive investors who are new to trading forex, have limited knowledge of risk management, and will
accept their 10:1 without question; while still providing seasoned clients with the 100:1 leverage that
they may require depending on their personal risk management methodologies.
Thank you for your time, and I hope that I may find reason to continue doing business with you.
--Patrick M.
