A recent report by PitchBook details movements inside the SEC indicating the agency may be taking aim at further regulation of private markets--in particular Private Equity and Venture Capital markets. After last year's high-profile Robinhood-Citadel-Reddit crisis, and several high-profile SPACs now under securities investigations, there is growing momentum in the Agency for action. The goal, as reported, is additional reporting and transparency in a space that, at least to the general public, has been opaque at best. The PE market in particular has come under increasing criticism in Washington in recent years.

While opponents of these SEC efforts cite the additional regulatory burden and negative impact these proposals would have on capital deployed to new ventures, the SEC appears focused on the secondary impact on limited partners which represent a larger share of Americans than just funds and their general partners. For instance, LPs in hedge funds and private equity funds often include pension funds and other public endowment funds.

No matter which side of the debate you fall on here, it seems inevitable that any expansion of markets (such as loosening the definition of accredited investors) will likely come with further regulation, transparency, and oversight by the SEC.