Securities Law Commons^™

Comment Letter On Sec’S Proposed Rule On Conflicts Of Interest Associated With The Use Of Predictive Data Analytics By Broker-Dealers And Investment Advisers, File Number S7-12-23, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci, Christina M. Sautter

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This comment letter responds to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed rule Release Nos. 34-97990; IA-6353; File Number S7-12-23 - Conflicts of Interest Associated with the Use of Predictive Data Analytics by Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers. Our comments draw on our scholarship relating to laypersons’ participation in securities markets and the corporate sector as well as on the role of technology in corporate governance.

We express concerns that the SEC’s proposed regulation undermines individuals’ ability to access capital markets in an efficient and cost-effective manner. In the era of excessive concentration of equities ownership and power, often with negative societal …

Why U.S. States Need Their Own Cannabis Industry Banks, Christoph Henkel, Randall K. Johnson

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The legal cannabis trade is the fastest growing industry in the United States. In 2019, about 48.2 million Americans used the drug at least once. As such, it is easy to see why the legal cannabis trade may generate annual revenues exceeding $30 billion in Fiscal Year 2022 alone.

One inconvenient truth, however, is that the parties to any cannabis trade may face a range of difficulties due to conflicts between federal and state laws. These difficulties include the fact that many financial institutions are reluctant to handle cannabis proceeds. One reason is that a lack of alignment in terms …

Wireless Investors & Apathy Obsolescence, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci, Christina M. Sautter

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This Article discusses how a subgenre of retail investors makes investors’ apathy obsolete. In prior work, we dub retail investors who rely on technology and online communications in their investing and corporate governance endeavors “wireless investors.” By applying game theory, this Article discusses how wireless investors’ global-scale online interactions allow them to circulate information and coordinate, obliterating collective action problems.

The Retail Investor Report, Nick Einhorn, Jill E. Fisch, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci, Monique Le, Christina M. Sautter

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In 2020, a wave of retail investors entered the stock market. In the last two years, approximately 30 million new retail investors opened brokerage accounts in the U.S. By 2021, retail investors comprised 25% of total equities trading volume, nearly double the percentage reported a decade prior.

And they’ve stuck around. In February 2023, retail investors across platforms set a new all-time high for weekly inflows, with $1.5 billion dollars pouring into the market in a single week.

Participation in the public markets remains high; more significantly, it has evolved. Public.com surveyed 2,000+ investors to compile its 2023 report. Public’s …

The Educated Retail Investor: A Response To "Regulating Democratized Investing", Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci, Christina M. Sautter

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The diffusion of mobile-first investing apps, like Robinhood, has increased retail investor participation in financial markets, particularly from the Millennial and GenZ generations, and has increased the diversity of retail investors. However, mobile-first investing apps are not free from controversy. In Regulating Democratized Investing, Abraham Cable tackles the debate on regulating mobile-first investing apps and largely opposes paternalistic regulation, which would raise unsurmountable barriers at the entrance of the stock market for retail investors. But it concedes to a form of regulation that in Cable’s own words “serves ultra-retail investors a modest portion of what they really want.” We strongly …

Broken Infrastructure, Del C. Wright Jr.

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No abstract provided.

The Wireless Investors Movement, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci, Christina M. Sautter

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The inaugural guest academic article for the University of Chicago Business Law Review Blog discusses how Millennial and GenZ investors can set in motion a social movement with disruptive effects on the current corporate governance paradigm. It refers to Millennial and GenZ investors as “wireless investors” and their social movement as the “Wireless Investors Movement.” The Wireless Investors Movement, fueled by wireless investors’ vision of the world and technology savviness, will bring corporations to pursue social and environmental causes. This short contribution analyzes the characteristics of the Wireless Investors Movement and the effects it will have on corporate governance.