I appreciate the discussion. My question specifically related to regulatory issues, and I got one response on that, so thanks.
I don't have an argument with any of the comments on this thread, per se, other than to say they assume things about me that, while reasonable, may not be accurate. I'll just offer the following comments:
A. I've been trading for about a decade, worked for a big bank, and worked independently as an exchange member. Made lots of money, and blown out my share of accounts. I may be many things, but one thing I'm not is a newbie. ( I've been on ET much longer than my handle suggests ... took a second handle for multiple reasons that did not involve any flame wars or controversy.)
B. I've managed family money on a limited scale in the past, so I understand the dynamic.
C. Over the years I've had multiple friends & family ask for help in managing their money, and I've almost always turned them away, because I knew I was still on a learning curve and didn't want to take on that type of risk.
A number of my target investors are semi-sophisticated investors already, and can readily grasp that this would be a small, and highly speculative portion of their total portfolio, something about which I will be very clear.