Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Delaware, (Ms. McBride.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Hill and Ranking Member Waters for their support. I also thank my co-lead on this bill, Congressman Cleo Fields, for all of his work.

The Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act would expand the accredited investor definition to include individuals that are certified through an exam written by the SEC and administered by FINRA.

Accredited investors are individuals that are allowed to participate in investment opportunities that are not generally available to the broader public, like private offerings.

Most current pathways to becoming an accredited investor are based on your balance sheet, your wealth, and your income. This bill changes and opens up a brand-new pathway allowing for investors' knowledge to be the determining factor in whether they are able to become an accredited investor.

In my view, wealth alone is not a particularly strong judge of whether someone should be an accredited investor or not. A better one is whether someone has the knowledge to accurately weigh the benefits and risks of private offerings.

In 2020, the SEC started allowing professional investors with credentials like a Series 65 or a Series 7 to become accredited investors. This was a very helpful step forward, but licensing requirements for brokers and investment advisers go beyond what is needed to properly weigh the risks of private offerings for an individual's personal finances.

Following the principle that merit, not just wealth, should guide who can become an accredited investor, an exam specifically written to determine the sophistication of investors is a natural next step.

The examination created by this bill is meant to strike the right balance between rigorously testing for sophistication and not being set to such a difficult standard that even an intelligent investor could not pass it.

This bill is a commonsense, bipartisan product that will expand opportunity in our capital markets. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3339) to require certification examinations for accredited investors, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3339, the Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act.

The accredited investor definition is severely outdated. While its intention is to protect investors, its overly broad definition excludes millions of Americans who are experienced and knowledgeable enough to invest in private markets.

Wealth alone should not be the sole determinant as to who can invest in these markets. My friend from Nebraska, Representative Flood's bill, provides a merit-based alternative by the establishment of an exam that allows individuals to qualify as accredited investors by demonstrating their understanding of investments and private markets.

This is a smart, commonsense modernization of these outdated rules that provides a meaningful step towards making private markets more accessible.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the record the CBO estimate for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Flood), the author of this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, for all the reasons that I have identified, changes need to be made in the credit investor rule. After 40 years, I think the changes proposed by the gentleman from Nebraska are solid.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise as a co-lead of the Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act with my Republican colleague Representative Flood from the great State of Nebraska.

Our bill will unlock capital for entrepreneurs and small business owners who have been left out for far too long.

Current law allows only millionaires to invest in the markets that fuel small businesses, shutting out countless Americans, especially women, veterans, and people of color, based on wealth, not knowledge.

Our bill addresses this by creating an exam to assess your ability to understand financial risk when investing in private markets, enabling a more diverse group of people to invest responsibly, regardless of their net worth.

This legislation creates a new path for capital to reach more hands. In my State, the Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce has told me that the legislation would help close the capital gap for diverse businessowners. Small business leaders say that it is not lack of ideas but a lack of capital that holds them back.

This bill opens up new sources of funding from a pool of investors more reflective of the community so that these founders can turn their vision into jobs and economic growth.

I urge all my colleagues to vote in favor of this commonsense, bipartisan legislation today. I thank Representative Flood, Chair Hill, and Ranking Member Waters for their leadership.