January 29, 2007
After reading John Mauldin's newsletter regarding proposed changes to Hedge fund accessibility, namely -raising the minimum threshold to $2.5 million as a litmus test to guarantee "sophistication" of potential investors- I think the SEC is heading in the wrong direction with this approach. I would instead encourage GREATER accessibility to investors regardless of net worth. With the chasm between the haves and have nots growing daily in this country, I would encourage implimenting a simple test of "sophistication" much like what's in place for trading options. You can't argue that there's a much easier way to lose money in the market than with options, and they are accessible to darn near everyone who even knows what they are. Everyone is allowed to play the lottery, in which you are virtually guaranteed to lose money with every dollar "invested". At least with a hedge fund, there's a decent chance of making money at some point. I say, "give the people a chance". Level the playing field a little. Create mechanisms to make hedge funds more accessible to the average investor, not less.