Yeah, the $200k/year threshold excludes something like 97% of individual income earners (https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-by-age-calculator/). That's not relatively low, its a significant barrier to entry. Worse, a $200k income in SF or NYC (where an outsized portion of those income earners live) is a different beast when it comes to disposable income if compared to Johnson City, Tennessee.
Matt Levine has it right- just peg the total amount of investments in these sorts of vehicles to 10% of cash, stocks, and bonds, until the investor crosses the $X million dollar mark.
Yes, it is a significant barrier to entry. That is its purpose.
Upper-income households (double the national median) account for 20% (side note: yeah, we have a yawning wealth gap). Those household incomes are $207,400 in 2018. So I'm not going accept your 3% number.
> Upper-income households (double the national median) account for 20% (side note: yeah, we have a yawning wealth gap). Those household incomes are $207,400 in 2018. So I'm not going accept your 3% number.
You are comparing two different things, so your objection is invalid.
Also, as noted elsewhere, part of this change was to expand what incomes in the household count towards the accredited investor threshold. Some number of those households didn't qualify because some portion of their household income didn't.
Matt Levine has it right- just peg the total amount of investments in these sorts of vehicles to 10% of cash, stocks, and bonds, until the investor crosses the $X million dollar mark.