Featured Headlines

April 6, 2016 @ 11:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

As had been rumored for quite some time, marketplace lending leaders Lending Club (NYSE:LC), Prosper and Funding Circle, have announced the creation of an industry association to represent their interests and advocate on behalf of sector growth.  Formed as a not for profit membership organization,… Read More

April 6, 2016 @ 7:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week Crowdfund Insider reported that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an arm of the Department of Treasury, had published a proposed rule change that will impact the nascent investment crowdfunding industry. The proposed change will require funding portals to adhere to the Bank Secrecy… Read More

April 6, 2016 @ 3:01 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

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

April 5, 2016 @ 11:35 am By Jodi Avergun and Colleen Kukowski  |  

  “Silicon Valley is coming.  There are hundreds of startups with a lot of brains and money working on various alternatives to traditional banking.” This warning came not from a pundit or Silicon Valley lobbyist, but from Jamie Dimon, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer… Read More

April 4, 2016 @ 10:33 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

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

April 3, 2016 @ 11:42 am By JD Alois  |  

The CrowdfundingHub, based in the Netherlands, has published a report on the state of the crowdfunding industry in 27 different European countries. The organization worked with 30 different individuals across Europe to produce the report. The release, coordinated with an event that took place last… Read More

April 1, 2016 @ 2:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury, via the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), has published a proposed rule change that impacts the definition of a funding portal under Title III of the JOBS Act. This new rule-making would amend some definitions to include funding portals. Specifically,… Read More

March 31, 2016 @ 11:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

During the keynote address at Stanford’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance at the event entitled “The Silicon Valley Initiative: Protecting Investments in Pre-IPO Issuers”, SEC Chair Mary Jo White delivered a wide ranging speech on the challenges of operating in the internet fueled age of finance…. Read More

March 31, 2016 @ 6:01 pm By Robin Sosnow  |  

The “democratization of investment” in historically closed industries have been the buzzwords of choice since the JOBS Act was signed into to law in 2012. But only since March 25, 2015, when the SEC voted to adopt the proposed rules implementing Title IV, was access… Read More

March 31, 2016 @ 11:13 am By JD Alois  |  

The SmartTracker crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo is emblematic about what is bad (and needs to be fixed) regarding rewards-based crowdfunding. The alleged creator of the SmartTracker product, a Mr. Julian Buschor, is a repeat offender when it comes to failing to deliver a product after… Read More

March 30, 2016 @ 3:26 pm By Therese Torris  |  

The French Minister of Economy, Emmanuel Macron was the guest star of the 3rd annual meeting of the French crowdfunding association. He expressed his commitment to the crowdfunding economy, shared his views on the regulation of innovation, and, to prove his point, announced several significant… Read More

March 29, 2016 @ 1:20 pm By Amy Wan  |  

  In translating the JOBS Act into final regulations, the SEC sought to protect investors in myriads ways: limiting certain opportunities to accredited investors, implementing caps on the annual amount certain investors may invest, and requiring certain disclosures, among other things. Understandably, the bulk of… Read More

March 28, 2016 @ 4:00 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

  It’s been five months or so since the SEC published its long awaited investment crowdfunding rules.  Though Congress dictated that this task be completed by the end of 2012, the SEC missed the mark by nearly three years.  Now, with rules in hand, and… Read More

March 25, 2016 @ 12:34 pm By Shane Smith  |  

  Recently, two London School of Economics professors published this fascinating paper on equity crowdfunding. Some industry players were quick to suggest that it provided proof that all investors make informed decisions based on objective investment criteria. I take issue with those interpretations. Examining a few… Read More

March 25, 2016 @ 9:59 am By JD Alois  |  

Scottsdale Capital Advisors Corp is challenging the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) ability to act as a securities regulator in Maryland federal court by stating it does not truly have a Congressional mandate to wield such power. The lawsuit is in response to proceedings pertaining… Read More

March 25, 2016 @ 9:06 am By JD Alois  |  

Virtuix, creators of the Omni platform that pairs with VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift, immediately topped $2.5 million from approximately 500 investors in 24 hours as it raised capital via a Reg A+ equity crowdfunding round. Vortex is offering Series A preferred shares… Read More

March 24, 2016 @ 10:50 am By JD Alois  |  

A growing number of governments are seeking to provide political might to support financial innovation.  While the UK may have trailblazed a path for the rest of the world, there is still time to catch up but without governmental acknowledgement it is pretty tough to… Read More

March 23, 2016 @ 11:30 am By Therese Torris  |  

  Execfintech, the German fintech event that took place March 8 in Frankfurt dedicated a couple of panel presentations to marketplace lending. The companies represented included the two most successful lending platforms in Germany, P2P lending site Auxmoney and P2B lending marketplace Funding Circle, along… Read More

March 22, 2016 @ 6:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

A new bill seeking to improve access to capital for small business is making its way through Congress right now. The “Micro Lending Safe Harbor Act”, sponsored by Congressman Tom Emmer, has captured some solid endorsements as both the National Small Business Association and the Small Business… Read More

March 22, 2016 @ 11:37 am By JD Alois  |  

IW Capital is a private equity firm that seeks to invest in promising early stage companies while taking advantage of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) tax exemption. The EIS (along with the Seed Investment Enterprise Scheme) mitigates a certain amount of investment risk and has… Read More