Comment Text:
i0-001
COMMENT
CL-05076
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[email protected]
Friday, February 5, 2010 8:59 PM
secretary
Public Submission for 2010-00456
Public Submission for 2010-00456.zip
Please refer to the attached file.Please Do Not Reply This Email.
Public Comments on Regulation of Off-Exchange Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions and
Intermediaries:
Title: Regulation of Off-Exchange Retail Foreign Exchange Transactions and Intermediaries
FR Document Number: 2010-00456
Legacy Document ID:
RIN: null
Publish Date: Wed Jan 20 00:00:00 EST 2010
Submitter Info:
first name Ken
last_name Briggs
address1 [email protected]
city
country
us state
zip
company
With regard to the proposal to limit leverage in forex trading I feel that the whole point has
either been missed or is not understood.
The fact of the matter is that 100:1 leverage is not in any shape or form harmful. The problem
is with the user, not the leverage. Rather like a gun is, in itself, totally harmless, it only
becomes dangerous in the wrong hands.
If I have an account balance of 1 million dollars and trade 1 standard lot at 100:1 there is little
risk or problem.
Alternatively if I trade 1 standard lot at 100:1 leverage on an account balance of $1000 I am
taking a huge risk.
Clearly the problem is not the level of leverage it is my personal use of that leverage.
If the government is going to wrap the population in cotton wool then they should at least do it
correctly.
Place restrictions on account margins, that is the real problem. When people trade and risk
an excessive percentage of the balance of their account they risk being wiped out.
As a comment what has happened to the US belief in freedom and the belief in the benefits of
risk taking? Would modern day legislators have controlled Henry Ford and Thomas Edison in
this way?
As a responsible retail trader I find it offensive that the regulators will take away my choices
because there are irresponsible people out there.Work on improving education insist that brokers manage the margin in accounts which is the
real problem and leave our freedoms in Place. Isn't the US the land of the free?
If my freedom is taken from me in the US then you can be sure I will look for trading accounts
in other centres of the world. I am sure many others will as well resulting in a negative
financial and employment impact on the US.
Please look at the whole picture, not just the over blamed and wrongly accused leverage.
Ken Briggs
