Opinion

January 31, 2015 @ 11:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

Investing in startup companies is a risky endeavor.  Now I believe that risk capital should be a part of anyone’s portfolio but a decision to dedicate money to a promising business, with enthusiastic entrepreneurs at the helm, is no guarantee of success.  This is a… Read More

January 30, 2015 @ 12:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Chair Mary Jo White re-animated a previously moribund Advisory Committee on SMEs late last year.  These “small” companies are private companies, as well as those publicly traded, with market capitalizations of under $250 million. This initiative was undertaken in recognition of the importance of… Read More

January 29, 2015 @ 1:18 pm By Dara Albright  |  

Anyone who has been reading my articles over the years knows that I have been on a fervent mission to help develop a practicable framework for unaccredited investor crowdfinancing. One of the reasons for my vehemence is that I am a staunch advocate of “investing… Read More

January 28, 2015 @ 12:02 pm By Richard Swart  |  

Last week the UC Berkeley case study on Sanovas Inc., the San Rafael California Life Science accelerator was presented  at the JP Morgan Chase OneMed conference to a packed audience of over 120 investors.  I presented the case study, which is the first in a… Read More

January 28, 2015 @ 10:27 am By Anna Duning  |  

Entrepreneurs and investors may have to wait until 2016 for the true equity crowdfunding that the JOBS Act was meant to establish. But the SEC will likely soon finalize rules that open another funding avenue for small businesses. Regulation A+, an amended version of a… Read More

January 27, 2015 @ 9:10 am By Kevin Berg Grell  |  

Welcome to the Jungle New York City, 1968. Busy street. A group of people have stopped on the sidewalk to look up at a window on the 6th floor of the adjacent office building. No one is in plain sight. No one is trying to… Read More

January 26, 2015 @ 4:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

It appears that Colorado wants to improve capital formation for small companies as well.  The Centennial state is preparing to introducing legislation that will facilitate crowdfunding by authorizing on-line intermediaries to match Colorado investors with a Colorado based business that wishes to sell securities to… Read More

January 26, 2015 @ 10:12 am By JD Alois  |  

Recently the Financial Conduct Authority (FC) has been reviewing promotional practices of peer to peer lenders in the UK. This event was shared in a recent report from the FT which posed the question will the FCA clamp down on advertising practices utilized by P2P lenders… Read More

January 25, 2015 @ 10:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

Paul Niederer is not one to mince words. Having been around the block more than once, Niederer gives good advice.  When it comes to new forms of finance he speaks from experience, not just unhindered opinion.  The Australian Small Scale Offerings Board (ASSOB), a company… Read More

January 23, 2015 @ 8:30 am By Erin Hobey  |  

As many Crowdfund Insiders know, when The University of Cambridge teamed up with EY and launched the European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey, the largest study to date on crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and other forms of alternative finance in Europe was initiated. This benchmarking survey, which closed on 6 January 2015,  seeks to capture the size,… Read More

January 22, 2015 @ 11:06 am By Rodrigo Niño  |  

As we start the beginning of 2015, expectations are increasing that final rules for both Title IV and Title III crowdfunding will finally be released to the public with the first offers commencing later in 2015.  Yes there are many questions regarding the final rules… Read More

January 21, 2015 @ 9:39 am By Erin Hobey  |  

As many Crowdfund Insiders know, The University of Cambridge teamed up with EY and launched the European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey, the largest study to date on crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and other forms of alternative finance in Europe. This benchmarking survey, which closed on 6 January 2015,  seeks to capture the size, transactional… Read More

January 20, 2015 @ 10:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

Peer to peer lending platform ArchOver recently signed up Wriglesworth Research to dig into consumer awareness and the acceptance of crowdfunding. From November to earlier this month (January) 500 adults were polled as to their opinion regarding new forms of investment.  The results, provided by ArchOver, were… Read More

January 20, 2015 @ 9:56 pm By Dara Albright  |  

According to a recently released white paper by Offerboard – a leading online marketplace for private placements – as a result of the implementation of Title II of the JOBS Act, the number of Reg D investors increased 50% over historical averages during the past… Read More

January 20, 2015 @ 10:14 am By Therese Torris  |  

  The 28 countries of the European Union are a very long way from offering a homogeneous regulation environment for crowdfunding. This is particularly true of equity crowdfunding which touches on multiple heavily regulated areas of finance such as investment advice, securities trading, retail banking… Read More

January 19, 2015 @ 9:31 am By JD Alois  |  

Global banking firm HSBC has published its 10th version of the Future of Retirement report. Started in 2005, the annual revisiting of why everyone needs to save more “or else” has become a predictable tome of financial nagging.  The fact that across the globe too… Read More

January 19, 2015 @ 9:00 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

    Though time has seemingly stood still on JOBS Act rulemaking at the SEC nearly one thousand days after its passage, the world continues to complete a full rotation every 24 hours – and it seems that the rest of the world is passing… Read More

January 18, 2015 @ 6:19 pm By David Klein  |  

Lending Club’s IPO was massively successful. Up 56% on the first day of trading. $1B of additional cash raised. Largest IPO out of Silicon Valley in 2014. Higher market valuation than all but 14 banks in the U.S. That it was the first “peer-to-peer” lending company to go public made… Read More

January 16, 2015 @ 12:26 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

In late December of last year, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) launched, what it refers to, as its Electronic Filing Depository (EFD) system. The EFD system is designed to allow users to submit certain required “blue sky” notice filings in connection with exempt… Read More

January 15, 2015 @ 4:23 pm By Midori Yoshimura  |  

    Global investment in clean energy rose for the first time in three years, increasing 16 percent to $310 billion in 2014, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance in a recent article on Bloomberg. This growth comes after decreased solar-panel prices and sinking subsides… Read More