SEC Chair Mary Jo White gave testimony before the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services.  Ms. White stated the staff is “engaged in a comprehensive review of the “accredited investor” definition. That review and the feedback received through that process will inform the SEC’s consideration of whether to change the definition of accredited investor, including whether net worth and annual income should be used as tests for determining whether a natural person is an accredited investor, and at what levels. As part of that review, the staff also plans to independently evaluate alternative criteria for the definition suggested by the public or other interested parties, giving careful consideration to both the need to facilitate capital formation and the need to protect investors.”

According to an InvestmentNews article Ms White said the staff study “would be released sometime in the next three to four months” and the SEC will move ahead “relatively soon” in its review of rules governing who can invest in unregistered securities.