Comments on proposed “accredited investor” rule negative

The response by the investment management community has been overhelmingly negative to the two proposed rules by the SEC regarding investment advisers. The focus of the comments so far tends to indicate the industry’s concern with two issues: (1) increasing the net worth requirement would unfairly limit highly sophisticated individuals from investing in hedge funds, and (2) employees of investment adviser’s who would not qualify as “accredited investors” under the new rule. William Tarollo, a small business owner wrote: “The proposed rule which increases the limits of an “accredited investor” is, from my prospective, merely an effort to disenfranchise the INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR from the fruits and influence of modern finance. It’s as simple as that.” The comments on the proposed anti-fraud rule seem to be generally positive, but at least one commentor, Dave Patch, thinks that it would be a waste of the SEC’s time to monitor hedge funds’ practices under the ausipices of an anti-fraud rule. http://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-25-06/s72506.shtml