September 27, 2013
Small ("non-accredited") investors also seek potentially profitable investments. Not opening up crowdfunding to these investors is unfair. There are large investors who can make dumb decisions and small investors who can make very good decisions. The main thing that separates us from them is that we don't have fat bank accounts. I do not believe when comments are made that us small investors are blocked because we need to be protected. There is no protection in the stock market a small investor can put their life savings in a speculative penny stock and lose it all and nothing will prevent that from happening. Now, an opportunity presents itself where small investors could build wealth through crowdfunding and all of a sudden the regulators are concerned about our protection. If someone is visiting a crowdfunding site they, more than likely, know at least a few basics about looking at a potential investment's financial statements and reading through some quarterly reports before investing. Otherwise, they would probably just open up a brokerage account. Also, allowing small investors to invest in local businesses would enable them to see first-hand how a business appears to be doing. They can see the results, or lack of, from their investment. If you are so concerned about protecting the little guy then put it on those seeking to raise money to make sure that they are providing the necessary information for small investors to make informed decisions and that the information is accurate. For our part, we can do our research and decide whether a company's prospects meet our criteria for investment.