Comment Text:
i0-001
COMMENT
CL-04744
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Jule Smith
Monday, February 1, 2010 5:25 PM
secretary
Foreign Exchange Leverage Proposal
February 1, 2010
To the Secretary of the CFTC:
RE: 10:1 ..L..~e..v..~.r..ag..e
"
Proposal
I am an individual foreign exchange trader and have been learning to trade for almost two years. My
resources are small and I am interested in supplementing my retirement income. Trading at 100:1 is
doable for my account, which I manage very carefully, using dedicated risk management principals. If
you were to change the leverage to 10:1 minimum, you will either force me to move to an off-shore
broker, or leave this market altogether. Neither choice will be good for US business if many other small
forex traders are in my situation, as many US accounts will be closed and brokerages will lose these
investments.
I am also concerned because this is an intrusion into my freedom of choice. The amount of money I
choose to trade and the leverage I select should be my choice, not the Government's. Does our
Government decide how much people can gamble in a casino, how much they can spend on lottery
tickets, or how much stock they can or must buy on the NYSE? These are but a few examples of
controls through legislation that are not part of our democratic and .f..[.e..e....s..o..c.!.~t.y... I am very supportive of
laws that protect our security and safety, but this proposal is on another level entirely.
I am not a radical and am very open to new ideas but this one will feel like a hand reaching into my
personal bank account and dictating to me beyond reasonable limits, what I can do with my money. I
simply will not be able to afford to trade the forex markets if you change the leverage to 10:1. Whatever
the intent of this legislation, it is going to disadvantage the small trader.
Sincerely,
Jule Smith
4660 Kingswood Drive
Danville, CA 94506
