On first blush, the notion of a written examination to test status as an "accredited investor" seems an eccentric one. But as the SEC's report points out (at page 65), there are a good number of examinations already in use for professional licensing that could be good starting points. As numerous studies have shown, the level of financial knowledge in this country is remarkably low. As a result, the level of public discussion over how to regulate the businesses that drive the economy suffers…

This is actually a report that poses good questions. It is not a generalized attack on non-banks that raise money or lend it. Rather, it is a discussion of the relationship between banks and non-bank entities with which the banks have some affiliation, such as sponsored money market funds or conduit financing vehicles.

Historically, FINRA's mark-up rules had not applied to government securities, either because the SEC was deferring to the authority of Treasury, or because of a more general concern that applying any requirements to government transactions would damage the liquidity of the market. While there are certainly many places where legitimate concerns of bad rules damaging the market should be taken very seriously, this is not one of them. There is no reason that retail investors should not be…

The release of the report is particularly timely given the .