Accredited Indians : Increasing the Flow of Private Equity into Indian Country as a Domestic Emerging Market

Indian Country is America's domestic emerging market, and as in a number of emerging markets, many successful businesses in Indian Country are starving for expansion capital. The US Treasury estimates that the private equity deficit in Indian Country is $44 billion. While the handful of wealthier tribes might be logical investors in private equity funds deploying capital in Indian Country, the existing securities laws present a significant impediment. In particular, Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933 does not treat tribes as quot;accredited investors,quot; thus denying those tribes the ability to participate in the private equity market. Since there is no principled reason to exclude tribes from the list of accredited investors, this article makes the case for extending accredited investor status to tribes