SEC Regulation D & Competency Modeling

Investor Accreditation & Financial Literacy Policy Simulator

Explore Brian Armstrong’s proposal to substitute restrictive net-worth gates with standardized financial literacy certifications. Analyze retail inclusion, capital formation, and demographic access in real time.

Yahoo Finance Source: “Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says you shouldn’t have to be rich to invest. A financial literacy test ‘would be another policy angle that would be fun to push on. And I think that the SEC is moving in that direction already.’”
Policy Scenarios:

Policy Levers Reg D Reform

$1,000,000
SEC Rule 501 traditional gate (excl. primary residence).
$200,000
Individual annual income floor for preceding 2 years.
75%
Required score on standardized capital markets competency exam.
150,000,000
Total addressable adult investing population.

Comparative Market Eligibility Feasibility: High

Literacy-Accredited
67,500,000
45.0% of retail population
Wealth-Accredited
18,000,000
12.0% baseline SEC reach
Investor Expansion
+275.0%
+49,500,000 newly eligible
Demographic Access Distribution (Millions of Citizens) Real-time D3 Model
Framework Dimension Traditional Net-Worth Standard Armstrong Competency Proposal
Qualification Criterion $1M liquid net worth or $200k income Verified financial literacy passing grade
Eligible Investors 18,000,000 (12.0%) 67,500,000 (45.0%)
Socioeconomic Gate Restricts private equity/crypto to top 12% Democratizes access based on investor merit
Investor Protection Assumes wealth equates to sophistication Directly evaluates risk, leverage, and valuation skills

Simulated Policy Impact Assessment

Under this configuration, testing competency expands accredited investor eligibility from 18,000,000 to 67,500,000 citizens, achieving an investor expansion of 275.0%. SEC adoption viability is scored as High.

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