Lets not confuse a discussion of a single point, namely why a person or group of people would choose something that appears to not be in their interest from my

Lets not confuse a discussion of a single point, namely why a person or group of people would choose something that appears to not be in their interest from my limited point of view, with a statement either for or against, any other actions. Hell for all I know, the clients could have been flat out told: "look this whole thing is market manipulation, we're getting you profit consistency and stability that you could not otherwise get, albeit at a lower rate than individual transactions". I regularly choose index funds over picking stocks for the reason of lower risk albeit at lower profit potential. I'm not saying anyone did anything right or wrong. I was just discussing a particular point that seemed relevant. It is possible that there was wrong-doing, that there was market manipulation, and that the clients still chose reasonably and in their interests despite that. Going back to my analogy, just because I made the decision the way I did, does not mean the dealer is or is not involved in deceptive business practices, gouging or other scummy tactics.