Opinion

June 17, 2015 @ 3:16 pm By Bill Ullman  |  

On Thursday, June 11, RiverNorth Marketplace Lending Corporation filed an N-2 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.  RiverNorth is a Chicago-based investment management firm founded in 2000 that specializes in opportunistic investment strategies.   Many of RiverNorth’s investment products are structured as Closed End… Read More

June 17, 2015 @ 10:42 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies met in early June to discuss various topics concerning, of course, small businesses. One of the primary topics the Committee addressed was the growing enactment and use of state-based crowdfunding (i.e. “Intrastate… Read More

June 16, 2015 @ 2:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The New York Times Dealbook section published an article yesterday about Goldman Sachs entering the peer to peer, or marketplace lending space. This was really old news as Quartz had covered it soon after Harit Talwar announced his departure from Discover in April.  Shelly Banjo… Read More

June 12, 2015 @ 5:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Subcommittee on Capital Markets an Government Sponsored Enterprises, part of the Committee on Financial Services, has scheduled a hearing to discuss two bills. The first is the Small Business Credit Availability Act which has been crafted to amend the Investment Committee Act of 1940… Read More

June 11, 2015 @ 2:42 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

As you may remember, in an earlier post entitled “Investor Protection Issue – Why You May Want To Reconsider How “Secure” You Feel About Your Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment,” I took issue with the fact that the majority, if not all, currently offered Real Estate… Read More

June 10, 2015 @ 2:39 pm By Stephen Sheinbaum  |  

  Trends in the Use of Technology in Alternative Finance Calendar makers divide the general world’s timeline into “Common Era” and “before the Common Era”. For financial technology, the timeline should be divided into “Before PayPal” and the sea change which has happened since. When… Read More

June 9, 2015 @ 3:01 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Early last week the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rolled out a multi-million dollar ad campaign promoting its online research tool called “BrokerCheck.” BrokerCheck is free online database intended to provide the investing public with an east way to research brokers and investment advisers before… Read More

June 7, 2015 @ 10:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

Zopa co-founder and CEO Giles Andrew has joined a growing chorus of industry leaders disputing the description of peer to peer, or marketplace lending, as “Shadow Banking“.  Of course this could be just a natural reaction from traditional banking.  As the banking model is challenged,… Read More

June 7, 2015 @ 3:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

The current definition of an accredited investor is something that has been in use for decades.  Basically the rule defines who may invest in certain private placement securities offers. In general you need to be earning over $200,000 a year ($300,000 if married) or alternatively have… Read More

June 5, 2015 @ 9:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

Senator Elizabeth Warren, an outspoken critic of all things associated with Wall Street, launched a blistering frontal assault against the current Chair of the SEC – Mary Jo White. It should be noted that Mary Jo White was selected by President Barack Obama to reinvigorate… Read More

June 5, 2015 @ 9:19 am By JD Alois  |  

Aussie MP and Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was quoted on new forms of finance this past week indicating peer to peer lending requires further regulatory oversight.  This is according to a report in Mortgage Business.  Frydenberg was quoted at the Stockbrokers Association of Australia Conference in Sydney… Read More

June 4, 2015 @ 11:53 am By Georgia Quinn  |  

A CATO Institute event on the status of capital markets in the US provided a bright spot to an otherwise bleak and rainy day in New York City. Amidst the libertarian rhetoric and literature, two speakers stood out with certain observations and proposed remedies to… Read More

June 4, 2015 @ 7:37 am By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher has completed the final update of his “crazy quilt” chart of regulations that smother financial services firms.  It is a wonder that anyone working in the financial sector does anything else but review and comply with mandatory rules.  And these are… Read More

June 3, 2015 @ 4:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a highly regulated industry, such as finance, there will never be a perfect set of rules. The diversity of opinion and perspective by nature engenders a constant debate between what is right – and what is wrong.  The internet finance industry has evolved quite… Read More

June 2, 2015 @ 10:24 am By JD Alois  |  

In an interesting speech delivered at the Exchequer Club in Washington, DC, last month, SEC Commissioner Piwowar criticized federal regulators push to expand oversight into areas overlapping with the responsibility of the SEC.  Piwowar slammed the infringement; “Make no mistake — it is the Commission, not the… Read More

May 30, 2015 @ 5:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

How time flies. The SEC is mandated by law to convene a forum on Small Business Capital Formation once a year. The practice has become an annual event that combines both hope and frustration.  The SEC is not required to act on any of the… Read More

May 27, 2015 @ 7:30 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

For years now, big bank lenders have warned the public about the dangers of dealing with “shadow” (i.e. non-bank) lending institutions. The term itself conjures up images of shady back-room deals where you’re handed money in a paper bag and told to pay it back… Read More

May 26, 2015 @ 8:15 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

On the eve of the 2015 Memorial Day weekend, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin set the stage for what I expect will be the final chapter in the continuing saga of what has popularly been referred to as Regulation A+,  a newly created avenue… Read More

May 23, 2015 @ 11:04 am By JD Alois  |  

According to research by Morgan Stanley, peer to peer lending is set to rocket to $22 billion within the next 5 years in Australia.  This is a country with a population of just 24 million.  This highlights the collision path between traditional finance and disruptive… Read More

May 22, 2015 @ 10:03 am By Erin Hobey  |  

In a release by James Tuckett, Managing Director of investUP, he shares his about the  crowdfunding supermarket, investUP, a potential ISA for the crowdfunding industry and what this could mean for the current state of the crowdfunding market. Below please find his unabridged commentary:  The crowdISA… Read More