Reply #1: turns out it's not so "curious" or "silent"-- likely to be the loss leader

[sundancekid]

concept that typically yields windfalls ... and the AP lead sentence is misleading ...

more from the article tells an added story:

snip

Yet the Securities Industry Association, a lobbying group of 43 Wall Street firms, has come out in support of privatization. That's because there's one thing that most everyone on Wall Street can agree upon: Getting more Americans investing would be a good thing.

"If you get all these folks with private self-directed accounts, that may stimulate interest in other accounts," Valliere said. "More interest in investing could lead to more business, the kind of business that Wall Street really wants."

snip