our guest for their reaction and more with us today, richard bernstein, cnbc contributor, and harry heartfordital management. harry, let me begin with you. how much, if at all, do you think that the high frequency trading undermines the individual investor's confidence in the marketplace? >> well, i think that's a really important point insofar as it's the investor's confidence as opposed to access to cheap trading, it's the volatility that is engendered in the stock market as a consequence of high frequency trading, large amgts of volume. i probably shouldn't say this in the new york stock exchange but i genuinely think the average investor is at a disadvantage because there is greater volatility in the having access to cheap trades. >> can the s.e.c. do anything about it? >> i'm sure they can. the question is, if they chose to. you can institute controls, perhaps levy taxes or make some changes to the speed at which the computers can react. >> but are you hurting the marketplace because you're actually taking away liquidity? >> i don't think you're hurting the marketplace by taking away liq