Hack of SEC’s System Shows the Drawbacks to Financial Market Investments

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this week that the electronic system it uses for storing filings from public companies was accessed by hackers. The Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system was first hacked in 2016. But it wasnt until August 2017 that regulators realized that those hackers could have used the hacked information in that system to engage in illegal trading, at which point they launched an investigation.

Questions surround the SECs decision to take so long to reveal the hack, particularly as deficiencies in its system were discovered months ago. Its particularly hypocritical given the SECs stance towards public companies that have found themselves victimized by hackers.

Hackers May Have Traded on Stolen Information

The filing information could have been used by hackers to gain advance knowledge of companies financial and earnings information before they were publicly available, enabling them to trade on that knowledge and reap profits. Aside from being a scathing indictment of lax security practices at SEC, this incident also underscores the problematic nature of equity investing.

Many investors who invest in stock markets treat it as though it is gambling. Rather than treating stock ownership for what it should be, a chance to become a part owner of a company with great growth potential, they view it solely in terms of the potential appreciation of the stock price. At the first inkling of bad news, they seek to cut their losses by selling their stock.

Its difficult enough for ordinary investors to keep on top of market developments and compete against professional stock traders to maximize returns. Now that we know that hackers can infiltrate government computer systems and reap profits before anyone else has a chance, its more obvious than ever that stock markets arent built to help the little guy build up and protect his assets.

The Superiority of Gold to Stocks

Compare that to gold, which according to its detractors just sits there in a vault doing nothing. Of course, its not actually doing nothing. Golds value has increased faster since 1971 than the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. And you cant hack gold like you can hack a software system.

Because golds price depends more on general trends and geopolitical factors, its pretty much immune from insider trading and pump and dump schemes that pervade stock markets. Gold just sits there in a vault, protecting its owners wealth against inflation year after year. Thats why so many investors trust gold to protect their retirement savings. Protection against stock market crashes, hackers, and inflation makes gold an ideal asset.

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