Better Markets Month in Review Newsletter - February 2026

Dear friend,

In the days since the State of the Union this week, one thing hasn’t changed since the State of the Union last year: Hardworking Main Street Americans—the backbone of our real economy—are still getting squeezed if not screwed by an economy that works for the top 10% but not for hardly anyone else. That rigged economy is supported by a rigged and broken financial system that too often fails to support the real productive economy that creates businesses, jobs, and broad-based economic growth—and is too often focused on wealth extraction rather than wealth creation.

Unfortunately, too much of that is enabled by a broken democracy where the money of the top 10% drowns out the public voice, hijacks the political agenda, and puts their priorities above the interests of everyone else. While crypto is the leading example of that, another shameful example just happened at the Federal Reserve. After spending his entire almost 40-year career representing the interests of his Wall Street bank clients (until just 10 months ago), the Fed appointed one of Wall Street’s top lawyer/lobbyists to oversee the supervision and regulation of his former Wall Street clients. As I said in a release, “This isn’t just putting the fox in charge of the henhouse; this is like appointing a lifelong arsonist as a fire chief.” You can read the full release here. 

Fighting against all that—to make the economy and financial system work for the 90%—is what Better Markets exists for and does every day. For example, retail investors and those saving for retirement—like teachers and firefighters—are often ripped off by a rigged stock trading system where high-frequency trading (HFT) schemes pocket their money. That’s why this month we opposed those HFT firms who are trying to kill competition from other firms trying to give investors better prices, which leaves more money in their pockets and retirement accounts. It’s also why we are fighting for the CFTC to do their job protecting the American people by properly regulating the commodities markets which impact cereal for breakfast, bread for lunch, gas for cars, and oil to heat homes and businesses. Every American depends on the CFTC to ensure that those markets deliver vital goods at the right time, in the right amounts, and priced on supply and demand not speculators’ profits. That’s the job the CFTC should be doing, not promoting gambling on sports and elections by baselessly claiming jurisdiction over prediction markets.

We also sounded the alarm on the Federal Reserve’s “Fed Payment Accounts,” a thinly disguised crypto giveaway that would expose Americans to unnecessary risks in the banking system. And in testimony earlier this month, Better Markets Director of Securities Policy Ben Schiffrin told Congress exactly what happens when the SEC protects corporate CEOs rather than staying focused on its core mission of protecting investors: fraudsters win, and Main Street loses. And we’re not letting up on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s Financial Stability Oversight Council, as it pursues an aggressively pro-Wall Street deregulatory agenda that will make income and wealth inequality worse while also reducing sustainable, broad-based economic growth.

But here’s the good news—and it’s real: these fights are winnable, and the American people are on the right side of them. Every time we shine a light on predatory practices, every time we call out a giveaway to special interests, and every time we push regulators to do their jobs, we move the economic and financial system closer to working for working Americans and away from a maniacal focus on helping the already rich get richer. Main Street Americans aren’t powerless. They’re the foundation of this country, and when the rules aren’t biased, when the economy isn’t rigged, and when the financial system supports the productive economy, they thrive. That’s why Better Markets will keep fighting—not just to expose and oppose what’s broken, but to build a strong, durable, and sustainable economy that will deliver economic security, opportunity and prosperity to all Americans.

With you in the fight,

Dennis

Dennis M. Kelleher
Co-founder, President, and CEO

Better Markets in the News

This elite crowd has created a protective shield around themselves that prevents any accountability no matter how egregious their conduct, including criminal conduct.

Trump’s SEC—now made up only of Republican commissioners—is gutting basic investor protections by trying to hide what’s inside mutual funds and ETFs, leaving Americans in the dark about where their money is really going. This move doesn’t help anyone except industry insiders, and it is contrary to the SEC’s core duty to give investors timely, honest information so they can make informed decisions and don’t get fleeced.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent owes the public a real explanation for pushing policies that weaken financial safeguards and put the broader economy at risk. By steering the FSOC toward Wall Street–friendly deregulation instead of its core job of preventing financial crises, he is increasing inequality, reducing consumer protections, and making another crash more likely.

On February 23, 2026, the Supreme Court received the first round of briefs in the case Sripetch v. SEC. The case boils down to this: should people who break securities laws get to keep the money they pocketed by cheating, or can the SEC make them give those ill-gotten gains back? If the Court sides with the SEC, it would strongly discourage criminals from trying to commit securities fraud in the first place.

The Federal Reserve picked a longtime Wall Street lawyer and lobbyist to oversee the same big banks for which he used to work and upon which his net worth, social standing, etc., depend. This is a slap in the face to the American people. To drive real economic growth and ensure banking serves the public interest, our regulators must be independent and focused on protecting Americans, not advancing Wall Street’s interests.

Fighting for the Public Interest at the Rule Writing Agencies

Each month our legal team outlines some of the top cases we're keeping an eye on, the Amicus "Friend of the Court" Briefs we have filed, and why everyone with a bank account, credit card, mortgage loan, or retirement loan should be interested in those cases.

Congress held several important oversight hearings in February, covering banking, securities, and financial stability. Better Markets returned to Capitol Hill to testify on SEC Chair Atkins’ approach in overseeing the agency in the first year of the Trump administration.Lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill in 2026 with an impending funding deadline and a slate of hearings to kick off the second session of the 119th Congress. They also faced continued attacks on the independence of the Fed and launched an investigation into suspicious prediction market trades.