Investor Protection

Group Letter in Opposition to Ohio’s Proposed Elimination of Protections for Investors who Purchase Non-traded REITs and BDCs

In a letter to the Ohio Securities Division, CFA and other groups expressed strong opposition to a proposed rule that would remove protections for Ohio investors and leave them vulnerable to the significant risks that non-traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Business Development Companies (BDCs) often impose on retail investors. Non-traded REITs and BDCs are often marketed and sold to retail investors, including older savers, as high-yield and predictable assets. However, these assets come with significant risks, including that they are often highly speculative investments that can impose devastating losses on investors, they often have severe restrictions on investors’ ability to sell their interests in these products, and income distributions can be modified or suspended at any time, leaving investors without a reliable source of cash flow to cover foreseeable and unforeseeable expenses.