SEC to Vote Wednesday on Expanding Accredited Investor Definition

The accredited investor threshold has long functioned as the main gatekeeper between retail capital and private markets, so any widening touches far more than securities law — it reshapes who can access private credit, real estate and crypto-adjacent vehicles that have increasingly leaned on that exemption. The open question is what the SEC actually proposes: a knowledge- or certification-based test would change the composition of the investor base, while a pure dollar adjustment would mostly widen it at the margin. Watch the comment file, since that is where the real fight over retail risk exposure will surface.