Anthony Zeoli

Follow The Leader: Why The US Needs A Federal Tax Credit For Angel Investors

  The UK crowdfunding market is the leading, and most successful, crowdfunding market for several reasons. Arguably the primary reason for their success is that the UK tailored, and continues to tailor, their securities laws specifically to promote crowdfunding/P2P lending. A lesser known reason, however,… Read More

Intrastate Crowdfunding: The Often Overlooked Option 

With the Federal Title III rules effective, there is certainly a lot of excitement surrounding national level “retail” crowdfunding to non-accredited investors. That’s obviously great news for the industry, but it’s important to remember that the majority of the states currently have some form of “intrastate”… Read More

Out of Alignment: The Dysfunctional Definition of an Accredited Investor & The Often Overlooked “Entity” Issue

As many of you know there is a heated ongoing debate as to whether the current definition of “accredited investor” should be revised and, if so, how it should be revised. The overwhelming majority of recent articles, and even proposed legislation, surrounding this topic focus… Read More

A New Bill Looks To Fix The Current “S Corp” Rules For Easier Crowdfunding; Why It Needs To Do More

A new Bill (H.R. 4831) was recently introduced by Representative J. French Hill which looks to amend the rules of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) concerning  “subchapter S” qualified corporations (“S Corps”), and the limited number of permitted S Corp shareholders, to… Read More

Knock, Knock … Who’s There? … A TON Of Potential New Real Estate Investors

  To date, most crowdfunded investment opportunities have been limited to wealthy investors who meet the current definition of “accredited investor.” This has left an absolutely HUGE market of potential investor capital, represented by those individuals who currently do not qualify as accredited investors, virtually untapped…. Read More

Working To Change The Definition of Accredited Investor – A Tale of Two Schweikert Bills

  There has been a lot of chatter and debate lately on how, or even if, the current definition of “accredited investor” should be substantively changed. To date, however, there has only been one affirmative action taken to actually change the definition which I am… Read More

Too Many Real Estate Deals To Choose From? Never Fear, New Methods Are Here.

Real estate crowdfunding is one of the most popular forms of investment-based crowdfunding in the industry today. That is why it has already accounted for millions of dollars in project funding in just the last couple years. As the popularity and viability of this market… Read More

CFIRA Responds to SEC On Proposed Regulatory Changes.

  As you may be aware, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently considering sweeping changes to some of the most long-standing rules and regulations governing private transactions. These changes include fundamental revisions of both Rule 501, the definition of “accredited investor” and arguably… Read More

Crowdfunding: A Look at 2015 & Beyond!

  With it being new years eve and all, what better time to reflect on all the advancements made this year and to look ahead to all those still to come in 2016 and beyond. If you follow this industry at all, you know that… Read More

New Real Estate Lending Portal PeerStreet Looks Like A Real Shining Star

  Real estate crowdfunding is arguably one of, if not the, most popular and fastest growing segments of the crowdfunding industry. Particularly those portals focused on P2P (or “marketplace”) lending of real estate projects. That is probably why it seems like I hear about a… Read More

Elio Motors Receives SEC Approval. Will Seek $25 Million in Regulation A+ Offering

In what is one of the largest equity crowdfunding rounds in the world, Elio Motors has received approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to seek $25 million in equity capital under the recently released Regulation A+ rules.. Elio, one of the very first… Read More

SEC Proposes Sweeping Amendments To Rule 147 To Facilitate Intrastate Crowdfunding: Why They May All Be Moot

  With all the excitement last week surrounding the SEC’s release of the final Title III rules implementing “Regulation Crowdfunding,” the SEC’s vote in favor of proposing amendments to the current Rule 147 to help foster Intrastate Crowdfunding amounted to little more than a side-note…. Read More

OneVest Launches “1000 Angels” to Reinvent Venture Capital

Onevest, a New York based investment crowdfunding platform focused on funding start-up entities, has announced the launching today of its new “1,000 Angles” crowdfunding vehicle. Touted as the “world’s largest digital-first, invitation-only investor network,” Onevest seeks to modernize the way venture capital funds are formed… Read More

Reg A+ Fight Between The States & The SEC Rages On, But What Is The End Game?

As many of you know, since the release of the final Title IV (i.e. “Regulation A+”) rules earlier this year, Massachusetts and Montana have been vehemently contesting the provisions allowing for pre-emption of State regulation with respect to “Tier II” offerings. They have even gown… Read More

Beware Of Companies Touting “506(b) Compliant” Funding Platforms

Steve Jobs is quoted as saying that “innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” While I personally agree with this statement, and it may certainly be the case in the mobile device and other industries, when it comes to the offering and sale of… Read More

SEC Issues New Guidance: Use Of The Internet Not Always Considered General Solicitation

Last week the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) responded to a “no-action” letter (RE: Citizen VC, Inc.) concerning the establishment of “substantive relationships” with previously unknown potential investors and what constitutes “general solicitation” in the context of a private securities offering. The SEC also issued… Read More

How Good Is Too Good? The Underwriting Risks Of Crowdfunding Real Estate Deals

The awareness and popularity of real estate based equity crowdfunding (i.e. “RECfunds”) continues to grow exponentially. As do the number of real estate crowdfunding portals. RECFunds offer substantial benefits to today’s investors including access to multiple types of projects, smaller barriers to investment, and portfolio… Read More

Governor of Illinois Signs Crowdfunding Bill Into Law

Today marks a landmark day for Illinois entrepreneurs and investors as Governor Bruce Rauner signed and approved the Illinois Intrastate Crowdfunding Bill (HB 3429). The bill was passed unanimously by the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate back in late May but with the Governor’s… Read More

SEC Launches Probe of Pre-IPO Tech Stock Sales Transactions

  What started as an action against a single company in late June has evolved into a probe of an entire industry. As reported by the Wall Street Journal late last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a new probe spurred by… Read More

SEC Issues Cease & Desist Order To “EB-5” Investment Companies For Acting As Unregistered Broker-Dealers: This Matters to the Crowdfunding Industry

  Last week the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued  a Cease and Desist Order (the “Order” embedded below) against two related companies for acting as unregistered broker-dealers in connection with the sale of securities under the “EB-5” Investor Program (also sometimes referred to… Read More

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