Who Gets to Invest?

There's a rule in American capital markets that most people never hear about until it affects them. It determines who is allowed to invest in many private companies. And the rule asks one primary question: How wealthy are you? I was discussing this recently with Nick Morgan, former SEC trial counsel and founder of the Investor Choice Advocates Network. Nick pointed out something that often gets overlooked. The accredited investor rule assumes wealth equals sophistication. But those two things are not always the same. The rule was created to protect investors from risky private investments, but it can also block knowledgeable people from investing in industries they understand. An engineer may be barred from investing in a startup building technology she understands. A young entrepreneur may be unable to support another founder in the same field. Meanwhile, someone with sufficient wealth can participate regardless of experience. Markets need rules, but they also need participation. Nick is taking these conversations across the country, discussing investor choice and the future of capital markets. If he comes through your city, connect with him, because free enterprise depends not only on innovation, it depends upon access to opportunity. Follow his work at ICANNlaw.org.