In an interview with “Axios on HBO,” New York Stock Exchange president Stacey Cunningham rejected comparisons between stock market investing and gambling.
Between lines: Senator Elizabeth Warren recently said that “big and small investors treat the stock market like a casino,” in response to last month’s situation with GameStop, Reddit and Robinhood. Cunningham says Warren is wrong.
As Cunningham replied:
“Markets are not a casino. They are highly regulated and closely monitored … We have a market that offers opportunities for investors to enter, invest in the companies they believe in, believe they will grow, and then participate in this wealth creation. … That’s what made this country so great: that a dreamer, an entrepreneur with an idea can start this business and make it grow by getting others to invest and participate in its success. “
Cunningham also says NYSE officials have not been asked to testify at upcoming House or Senate hearings on volatility in the past month, although GameStop, AMC and several other “memes” are listed on the NYSE.
About the problems: Cunningham strongly opposes a financial transaction tax that has been touted as a way to improve even the field of investors, even threatening to withdraw NYSE from New York if there were such a state-approved tax. .
- However, he believes regulators should review the need for more transparency around hedge fund short positions.