Opinion

January 2, 2016 @ 9:04 am By Barry James  |  

2015 Was the Year  of Change Crowdfunding became mainstream – in the sense that it was accepted as part of the ‘new normal’ and not a fad that’s going to fade away In the USA the SEC finally, perhaps reluctantly, followed the Fintech leaders in… Read More

December 31, 2015 @ 2:00 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

  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

December 31, 2015 @ 3:07 am By Erin Hobey  |  

As 2015 comes to a close, here are some highlights from WWF, the wonderful world of fintech. And what a year it’s been!  At the close of last year, the world watched Lending Club’s astounding IPO. By this November, the firm surpassed $13B from borrowers since its 2006 launch. During… Read More

December 30, 2015 @ 5:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

As the entire world knows the Federal Reserve decided to increase their benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on December 16th.  After much discussion and introspection, Janet Yellen, along with the other Fed board members, decided the economy was on solid enough footing to… Read More

December 30, 2015 @ 9:31 am By JD Alois  |  

  “I believe the use of the internet, platforms and websites — and all of the access and transparency that this enables — will become the New Normal for ALL securities transactions, and not just those directly impacted by the JOBS act, but for public… Read More

December 27, 2015 @ 7:43 pm By Karteek Patel  |  

Of course, those of us who work in the alternative finance industry understand very well the benefits this new form of finance offers to everyone. But with recent data revealed at this autumn’s LendIt conference suggesting that retail investor awareness has plateaued in the last… Read More

December 26, 2015 @ 12:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The end of one year, and the entry into another, typically brings a cacophony of predictions for the new year along with lamentations and accolades for the one ending. At the beginning of 2015 (January 2nd to be precise), I peered deeply into my… Read More

December 24, 2015 @ 12:00 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

  “In 5 years, we will no longer talk about “Crowdfunding,” it will just be “funding.” Crowdfunding will just be one of the ways that early stage companies and SMEs gain access to capital.  Just like online trading of public securities is considered the primary… Read More

December 23, 2015 @ 3:06 pm By AdaPia d'Errico  |  

A look back on a momentous year in real estate crowdfunding takes its many high and notable points not just from one or two players or headlines, but rather, a whole field of them. There are many contributors — as with the structure of crowdfunding… Read More

December 23, 2015 @ 9:53 am By JD Alois  |  

There is currently a bill weaving its way through Congress that will go a long way in addressing the regulatory negligence known as the definition of an accredited investor.  The SEC staff has proposed new rules, which the Commission may consider, that have the potential to… Read More

December 22, 2015 @ 11:12 am By JD Alois  |  

      Doug Ellenoff is one of the most recognizable names in the entire investment crowdfunding space. A founding partner of Manhattan law firm Ellenoff, Grossman & Schole, early on he and his firm staked a claim in the nascent alternative finance sector.  Ellenoff… Read More

December 21, 2015 @ 2:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Parliament committee on Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), has launched an inquiry regarding access to finance.  According to information posted on the UK Parliament site, members are seeking to better understand how access to finance has developed since the financial crisis and what exactly… Read More

December 21, 2015 @ 7:45 am By Erin Hobey  |  

  “We believe the potential of crowdfunding is not about a single company or single crowdfunding platform.  It is about the evolution from an institutional framework for allocating capital (otherwise known as banks, funds, and foundations) to a more individually driven framework enabled by existing and… Read More

December 19, 2015 @ 1:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Dodd-Frank, the massive law passed in the midst of the Great Recession, touched many aspects of the financial industry.  One portion of the bill was a requirement to review the definition of an Accredited Investor “as it relates to natural persons” every four years.  The… Read More

December 17, 2015 @ 6:00 pm By Mouna Aouri Langendorf  |  

These Innovative Entrepreneurs Beg to Differ Two weeks ago, I held a mentoring session for five brilliant startup teams led by female founders. The teams were busy preparing their pitches for the third CrowdfundHerLive event organized by Woomentum, an ecosystem and crowdfunding platform for women-led… Read More

December 17, 2015 @ 7:40 am By Dom Wolf  |  

To nobody’s surprise, the exciting predictions for the world of crowdfunding in 2015 were not entirely wrong. In fact, most of them were entirely right. So have an early Christmas present, wonderful followers of all things crowdfinance. 2016 is going to be BIG. You heard… Read More

December 16, 2015 @ 2:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

As most Fed followers expected, the FOMC decided to increase interest rates nudging up rates by 25 basis points. The last time the Fed raised rates was almost 10 years ago. The back and forth chatter regarding when the Fed would act has been a… Read More

December 16, 2015 @ 8:33 am By Pärtel Tomberg  |  

The peer-to-peer lending market is looking for another massive growth from 2016, but before holiday season kicks in, we here at Bondora have decided to dig deeper to see what will be the underlying trends shaping the surging industry in the new year. INSTITUTIONAL MONEY We… Read More

December 15, 2015 @ 11:40 am By Sam Raymond  |  

If you are an entrepreneur in emerging markets, you have probably heard a lot about crowdfunding, but wondered how it could be useful for your early-stage business. In developed markets, crowdfunding is swelling the ranks of early-stage entrepreneurs and bolstering the pipeline of enterprises that… Read More

December 14, 2015 @ 9:30 am By Andrew Stephenson  |  

On May 16, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules implementing Title III of the JOBS Act will come into effect, allowing companies to raise funds under Section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act. The SEC made some important improvements over the proposed rules that will… Read More