Simon Constable for the Wall Street Journal reports on the various benefits and potential risks of expanding private equity access to individual investors in his new article, “Private Equity Might Be Going Downscale. Should You Invest?” The SEC recently asked for public comment on the topic, suggesting that the regulatory agency is open to considering allowing individual investors to invest in private equity. In the past, regulators have restricted private equity access to institutional and high net worth investors in order to protect individual investors from certain investment features and risks that they may not be able to understand or afford.
Historically, average returns on private equity have exceeded those of traditional investments by a wide margin. According to Jack Albin, founding partner of Cresset Wealth Advisors LLC, “[private equity] is a pathway to returns and wealth.” Many think that individual investors are missing out on a valuable investment opportunity and should be able to access the potential for these higher returns, even if it involves taking on extra risk.
Private equity fund managers may also support expanding access to their funds to individual investors, especially with the recent trend of 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts replacing pension plans, which have historically been large investors in private equity funds. “What the SEC is trying to do is to solve a problem that was created when there was a shift away from defined-benefit pensions. That change shifted the burden of investing to the individual,” according to Kimberly Flynn, XA Investments Managing Director of Alternative Investments.
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