It occurs to me that perhaps the most appropriate concept in relation to this sorry tale is that of the "sophisticated (or accredited) investor": https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sophisticatedinvestor.asp Certain high-risk investments are locked away from investors who do not meet the legal standards to qualify as such. Regulation that applied a similar standard to e.g. utility suppliers would seem to be a reasonable compromise measure that protects unsophisticated billpayers, whilst preserving freedom for those billpayers well-placed to be able to shoulder any downside risk.