SEC Chairman Elisse Walter states crowdfunding coming soon in a speech titled Making the Markets Safe for Informed Risk-Taking. As part of the SEC Speaks series of presentations the comment was just a portion of the speech which you may view in its entirety here.
Companies raising private capital are largely concerned with a handful of sophisticated angel investors or venture capital firms. Soon, crowdfunding will bring the potential for a broader range of investors to provide private capital, although their investments will be and should be limited.
But soon is a relative term. Next week? Next year? Many industry participants are waiting for the regulatory overlords to finally declare it is legal to crowdfund. This aspect of the financial industry must be thoughtfully regulated but lingering delays are damaging to the many portals gearing up to offer equity investments to the masses. The original deadline was January 1st of this year.
In the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and elsewhere, equity based crowdfunding has already taken hold. These countries are advancing and revolutionizing the financial industry now … An industry which is in dire need of change.