PErspectives: Private Equity Industry Insights

OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, regulators and market participants increasingly have called for the expansion of investment opportunities for retail investors and retirees. These calls for expanded opportunities have cited market structure changes, the looming retirement crisis and basic fairness to retail investors and retirees who do not meet existing regulatory proxies for investor “sophistication.” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, for example, observed that, in 2018, more capital was raised in the private markets than in the public markets, and that retail investors should (but currently do not) have access to those opportunities.1 Because retail investors are generally limited to investments in public companies, market trends suggest that the investment opportunities available to retail inves