May 29, 2014
Sirs, As an Angel investor I know how vital capital is to early stage companies. I also have a very good idea of the makeup of several angels groups who are actively involved in this vital funding. The angel groups that I associate with go to great lengths to educate their members as to not only the substantial risks associated with early stage investing but also in best practices to help maximize their opportunities for succeeding in this sector.
I know of no one who undertakes investing in this asset class lightly. In fact this is by far the most sophisticated group of investors I have ever been associated with. As such they are fully aware of the spectrum of risk and opportunity associated with angel investing and quite capable of judging the suitability of such investments in their own portfolio. Raising the requirement for angel investing seems more arbitrary than real as those that currently participate are fully capable of judging for themselves the most judicious use of their funds.
Therefore a rise in the requirements to qualify as an angel investor will do little to temper fraud or riskless speculation and will almost certainly have significant consequences for early stage funding that could significantly impact the funding of this sector that is so vital to the growth of our collective future economy.