Politics, Legal & Regulation

September 9, 2015 @ 12:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Most people are not even aware there is a dividing line between who is allowed to invest in pre-IPO companies and who may not. A travesty of rule making, today investors are measured by the size of their bank account – and not the caliber… Read More

September 7, 2015 @ 12:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

EU Commissioner Jonathan Hill warned this past weekend about being too reliant on traditional banks.  Hill, who is Commissioner for Financial Services and Capital Markets, was interviewed by CNBC where he expressed his interest in crowdfunding as well as his concern that too much regulation… Read More

September 7, 2015 @ 10:12 am By Ronald Kleverlaan  |  

The e-Residency project is an initiative of the Estonian government to offer every world citizen the possibility to become an e-Resident of Estonia. As a side effect they could solve a number of problems for current Crowdfunding platforms with this government backed e-identity program and boost the industry…. Read More

September 4, 2015 @ 4:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Daniel Gallagher announced in a brief statement today that he intends on departing the SEC no later than October 2nd.  His term was not set to expire until 2016. Gallagher submitted his resignation to President Obama in May of 2015 but… Read More

September 4, 2015 @ 12:24 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) assist marketplace lenders such as Ablrate and Ratesetter (the first consumer P2P platform to be available through a SIPP),  in sourcing loans.  Research from Yorkshire Building Society “highlighted a lack of understanding about peer-to-peer investment (P2P) and the potential risks it poses… Read More

September 4, 2015 @ 10:53 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The International insurance firm Hiscox has released its seventh annual ‘DNA of an Entrepreneur Report’, with the firm using its global network of 268,000 small businesses in order to calculate entrepreneurship and business innovation within six countries, including the US, UK, Germany, France, Holland and… Read More

September 3, 2015 @ 11:05 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities CommissionMalaysa, (SC) is in the midst of hosting its annual World Capital Markets Symposium in Kuala Lumpar. The Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato’ Sri Najib Razak, was in attendance to deliver a keynote address that acknowledged the participants from around the world.  SC Chairman… Read More

September 2, 2015 @ 9:06 am By JD Alois  |  

Paul Niederer, CEO of ASSOB  – a trailblazing investment crowdfunding platform in Australia, makes a very valid point. Regulators are too rooted in the past and they are at risk of botching the future as the finance industry inevitably moves online. Australia is in the… Read More

August 31, 2015 @ 1:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

As aptly stated in one publication, Massachusetts and Montana are giving Regulation A+  – an F.  While the failing grade is perplexing to most casual observers, the battle over this new investment crowdfunding exemption and the petitioning states is nowhere near completion. In a filing… Read More

August 29, 2015 @ 3:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

The finalization of rules regarding Title IV of the JOBS Act was a watershed moment in the history of securities law and a leap forward for investment crowdfunding.  Title IV, now commonly referred to as Regulation A+, not only allows issuers to raise capital in… Read More

August 26, 2015 @ 9:45 am By Albert Santos  |  

Crowdfunding in Indonesia is still in its infancy stage which is on par with most of Southeast Asia. For a country that is home to multiple ethnic groups carrying different languages and hundreds of volcanic islands, the government is poised to be in a good… Read More

August 25, 2015 @ 10:51 am By JD Alois  |  

Speaking at the annual FBIC Conference that is taking place this week in Mumbai, SS Mundra, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, called for more regulation in the burgeoning online finance space – including crowdfunding and peer to peer lending. “Crowdsourcing and peer… Read More

August 19, 2015 @ 1:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC has announced that Shelly Luisi has been named as an Associate Director in the Division of Corporation Finance. Luisi currently is a Senior Associate Chief Accountant in the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant, where she co-leads the staff responsible for the agency’s… Read More

August 19, 2015 @ 7:00 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury issued a “Request for Information” (RFI) on the burgeoning Marketplace / P2P lending sector several weeks back.  As summer vacations are quickly coming to an end, Treasury has decided to give direct lenders and interested parties a bit more time… Read More

August 18, 2015 @ 9:15 am By JD Alois  |  

Dick Bove, an equity research analyst and frequent commentator on CNBC, has published an Op-Ed on CNBC about the legislative disaster called Dodd-Frank.  Bove does not mince words when he states,  “I thought it would be impossible to find a worse piece of legislation in… Read More

August 17, 2015 @ 5:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

As regional economies slow, policy makers search for new catalysts for growth.  Thailand is one of several countries in southeast Asia eyeing investment crowdfunding to help spur innovation and economic growth.  While several rewards based platforms operate in Thailand now, the country has charted a… Read More

August 17, 2015 @ 8:23 am By Will Mahon-Heap  |  

The Australian government has recently released a consultation paper seeking feedback on their proposed framework for “crowd-sourced equity funding” (CSEF). The “CSEF” label is inaccurate, and likely to confuse both investors and companies. Instead, Australia should be adopting the globally-accepted term “Equity Crowdfunding”. The term, crowd-sourced equity… Read More

August 16, 2015 @ 4:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

The below report was published by the UK parliament some weeks back.  A joint commission comprised of members of the House of Lords and House of Commons generated a document entitled “Changing Banking for Good”.  The UK suffered like the rest of the world during… Read More

August 14, 2015 @ 4:00 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

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

August 12, 2015 @ 10:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Apparently Alabama State Senator Paul Sanford has launched a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to finance the state government.  The goal is to raise $300 million.  In the past 5 days 67 people have kicked in $1145 so the campaign has a ways to go. Senator… Read More