[beambot]

Perhaps its just the accredited investor limits then? $1MM in assets (less primary residence) or $200k per year in individual income... I know lots of savvy investors below those caps.[1] Why should they be denied access to investment vehicles where they (arguably) know as much as incumbents?

My suggestion: treat it like options trading. At many brokerages, getting options enabled (esp. uncovered options) requires proof of investment acumen and specific forms to be filled out. Can you seriously make the case that small-scale angel investing is more risky that options investing?

[1] Many of them chose to work at lower-paying positions (eg. startups or research-type positions), or just in relatively lower-earning areas (aka, the MidWest).

[webwright]

These limits are ridiculous. There is nothing that protects a bad investor from spending their life savings on RIM stock, penny stocks, or a roulette wheel in Vegas. Or spending 5 years of their lives and going up to their armpits in debt trying to build a pet-food startup. People should be able to take risks.