The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC), Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) has added new members to the committee.
According to a statement issued by the SEC, four new members have joined the independent Committee that aims to advise the Commission on policies that support access to capital for small firms.
The Commission-appointed committee members are:
- Jennifer Newton – Managing Attorney and Founder, StartSmart Counsel; Miami
- Rose Standifer – Partner, Foley Hoag LLP; Denver
- Wendy Stevens – Partner, Forvis Mazars LLP; New York
- Emily Underwood – Clinical Professor of Law, Bluhm-Helfand Director of the Innovation Clinic, The University of Chicago Law School; Chicago
The attorneys will be added to the already legal-heavy group that holds quarterly meetings – the next meeting taking place on November 13th. At that time, the SBCFAC will focus on how venture capital fund managers are raising capital.
While the SBCFAC submits recommendations to the Commission on how the SEC should alter or improve regulations, the Commission typically ignores the feedback. At the last meeting, the SBCFAC recommended that the SEC increase the threshold for requiring reviewed financial statements for issuers using the Reg CF exemption from the current $124,000 to $350,000. This is predicated on the fact that few smaller firms actually have relevant operational information that is beneficial to investors.
In February, the SBCFAC recommended making the definition of an Accredited Investor more inclusive by allowing more individuals to participate in private securities offerings,
Both of these common-sense recommendations have been disregarded. The list of spurned recommendations is long and has grown longer during the tenure of the current SEC leadership.
