[zachlipton]

Publicly traded stocks are subject to a large number of regulations that have the intent to protect investors. The point isn't to make it impossible to lose all your money; the law will gladly let you give it all away if you so choose. But the idea is that people should have the necessary information to know what they are getting into. In exchange for exemption from SEC registration requirements (which are costly for a small company to deal with) and less disclosure, companies can only deal with accredited investors.