The Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA) has scheduled a public event in Washington, DC, on November 21st, to update and review the community on various aspects of the JOBS Act including Title II, Title III and Title IV. The 2nd Annual Regulatory Summit has been scheduled to follow the SEC’s annual Government Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation which will be held at the SEC offices the day prior.
Title II, the portion of the JOBS Act that legalized general solicitation, or advertising, for certain private placements, has become known as accredited crowdfunding. This approach has seen growing acceptance as an increasing number of companies are publicly promoting investment opportunities via crowdfunding portals. While still in the early stages of acceptance, a portion of the gathering will be to review the progress made following final regulations in the end of 2013.
Chris Tyrrell, Chair of CFIRA and CEO of investment platform OfferBoard, commented on Title II offerings;
“We’ve just gotten the first year of data from the use of Title II, and it’s very interesting. $118 billion in offerings across a broad range of industries. That’s already almost 10% of the private placement market. One of the panels at our event is going to go into much greater detail on the data we have — and the data we don’t.”
While Title II utilization is growing, final rules remain pending for both Title III and Title IV of the JOBS Act – each possessing new potential to aid companies seeking finance while boosting economic growth and creating jobs.
“I am hopeful that the change in Congressional leadership will mean that an expanded version of Title III of the JOBS Act, such as the one proposed earlier this year by Congressman McHenry, has a chance to move forward. DJ Paul is moderating a panel at our event on this exact subject — what the elections mean for the JOBS Act and the industry.” said Tyrrell.
Title IV, otherwise known as Reg A+, has been viewed by many as a portion of the act with greatest potential. Reg A+, as it stands now, has a funding cap of $50 million and may incorporate pre-emption of “State Blue Sky Review” – an onerous portion of the current Regulation A exemption that has crippled the law from being widely utilized.
“With the recent changes this weeks ’s election brought to the political landscape, CFIRA believes that the timing is ripe to move forward on the remaining aspects of the JOBS act, including final rules for Crowdfunding and Reg A+,’ Says DJ Paul chief strategy officer of Propellr, co-chair of CFIRA and a member of the SEC’s Advisory Committee on Small & Emerging Companies.
“As an organization we are pleased to be able to have this event to further the dialog on these crucial topics and help educate the public regarding securities reform and capital formation in the coming months.”
The CFIRA Summit is open to the public and free to attend. Interested individuals are encouraged to register in advance on the CFIRA site. The summit will be held at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill.
The SEC Forum, a mandated event, has become a popular gathering for small business advocates that recognize the importance of small business growth for the overall economy. Timing the CFIRA event with the SEC Forum should engender considerable overlap between participants.
