The Securities and Exchange Commission has rescheduled the meeting of the Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies to take place on March 4th at 9:30AM. The meeting was originally scheduled to take place last week but was cancelled due to the winter weather which forced many federal offices to close.
The meeting is of note because the committee will be discussing, and making recommendations on, the definition of an “accredited investor”. The current definition determines who may invest in certain private placement investments. As it stands today, only individuals earning $200,000 per year (or more), or have a net worth in excess of $1 million (excluding primary residence), are allowed to invest in these opportunities. The definition is widely viewed as flawed as it only uses a metric based on wealth and not acumen. The present standard has been in place since the 80’s and has disenfranchised a generation of potential investors from participating in some of the most lucrative, yet risky, investment opportunities.
The meeting is open to the public at the SEC offices. Interested individuals will be allowed to phone in to listen to the proceedings on the day of the event.