Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act of 2025

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, in both this Congress and last, I have been particularly outspoken about the risks of retail investors investing in private securities. Amongst other things, private securities lack sufficient transparency, have longer lock-up periods, and are much more volatile and less liquid than their public counterparts. It is critical that anyone who invests in these risky assets have sufficient knowledge of those risks.

Currently, companies, or the brokers they hire, can only solicit these ``investment opportunities'' to individuals who have been deemed to be accredited investors. This definition is currently based on a person's income and net worth, meaning only those making a certain amount of money or possessing a big enough bank account have access to them. Anyone can tell you that just because you have a lot of money, that doesn't make you knowledgeable about the markets. Knowledge is the key here, and the definition needs to be revised to center around this core concept of knowledge and expertise.

The committee has heard from investors who want to invest their own money in some of these risky and illiquid investments and don't want to be barred from investing just because they don't meet the wealth or income tests.

The Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act addresses this problem by allowing an individual to qualify as an accredited investor if they pass an exam that ensures they are properly versed in the risks of investing in the private markets.

With this change, ordinary investors who want to invest in private securities can now do so, assuming they pass the test, which would establish that they are keenly aware of the specific pitfalls related to high-risk and illiquid securities, as well as the conflicts of interest presented when financial professionals try to sell them these products.

Last year, committee Democrats worked with Former Chairman McHenry and my colleague Mr. Flood to ensure that this test contained specific, robust elements, elements that the Republican witnesses at previous Financial Services hearings talked about when discussing how they teach and mentor their budding investors.

I am so glad that the Financial Services Committee agreed to make the test available free of charge to anyone who is willing and able to go through the rigor.

Finally, I thank Mr. Flood, my colleague from across the aisle, for working with the committee Democrats on a bill that ensures that the SEC is appropriately overseeing this exam process.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. WATERS. McBride.)

Compared to investing in publicly traded securities, private securities contain lots of risks. They are less liquid, harder to value, and are more volatile than their public counterparts. It is, therefore, essential that anyone investing in these products fully understand the risks involved, just as prospective drivers must pass a written test displaying they understand the rules and dangers of the road before they are given access to a car.

This bill puts that commonsense principle into practice by creating an SEC-administered test investors can take if they want to invest in private securities.

In doing so, we adequately balance investor protection while providing folks with sufficient freedom to do what they please with their hard-earned dollars. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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