Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 15, 2015 @ 7:43 am By JD Alois  |  

Funding Circle, a business oriented peer to peer lending platform, has signed onto a new partnership with local government Herefordshire Council to launch a “pioneering” agreement.  The new partnership is designed to boost local economic growth and job creation via improved access to business finance…. Read More

January 14, 2015 @ 6:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

The state of Minnesota is next on the list of states determined to take matters into their own hands as Federal regulations continue to be mired in parochial politics and timid rulemaking. A crowdfunding bill was introduced into the legislative process today in St. Paul…. Read More

January 13, 2015 @ 5:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced the members of its newest outside advisory group, the Equity Market Advisory Committee.  The formation is similar in operation to the Investor Advisory Committee and Advisory Committee on Small & Emerging Companies.  The newest addition to the portfolio… Read More

January 13, 2015 @ 8:51 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Since late November, The University of Cambridge teamed up with EY, the global professional services organization, and launched the European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey with the support of major European industry associations. As readers may know, this is the largest study to date on crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and other forms of alternative… Read More

January 11, 2015 @ 7:46 pm By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) plans to create a new crowdfunding platform, with a website active as soon as March 2015. According to a report in the China Post, The site will help young entrepreneurs raise money, as well as be a type of “personal venture… Read More

January 11, 2015 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Fast growing real estate crowdfunding platform Fundrise has been expanding its message and platform reach across a growing number of states. Site co-founder Dan Miller recently stated they are aggressively growing their company and are intending on setting up shop in Europe – specifically London as they… Read More

January 9, 2015 @ 3:43 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to finalize its crowdfunding rules that will allow small businesses and start-ups to raise capital online and through social media. The senators were lead sponsors along with former Republican… Read More

January 9, 2015 @ 9:25 am By JD Alois  |  

GrowthCapitalist, part of the MarketNexus Media group, organized a small gathering just prior to the SEC Small Business Capital Formation event in Washington, D.C. last November.  The event was held at the National Press Club and several well known names from the investment crowdfunding world… Read More

January 6, 2015 @ 9:26 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey deadline is today, 6 January 2015. Since late November, The University of Cambridge teamed up with EY, the global professional services organization, and launched the European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey with the support of major European industry associations. As readers may know, this is the largest study to date on… Read More

January 5, 2015 @ 7:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Paul Niederer, founder of the Australian Small Scale Offerings Board (ASSOB) and crowdfunding protagonist, has tackled the global regulatory regimes around the world as they attempt to create rules for the new forms of finance. Niederer criticizes most approaches stating: “The [regulatory] implementation balance to… Read More

December 30, 2014 @ 6:39 am By JD Alois  |  

For the third year in a row the Securities and Exchange Commission has published an annual review of the past year, the primary focus being financial results.  The document is a nice summary of just about everything the SEC did last year.  As with any… Read More

December 27, 2014 @ 7:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Australian Member of Parliament and Secretary to the Minister for Communications Paul Fletcher published an interesting missive earlier this month on the importance of crowdfunding and why politicians should care.  Published in the Journal of Banking and Finance Law and Practice the statement is clear… Read More

December 24, 2014 @ 6:57 am By Anna Duning  |  

With overwhelming bipartisan support, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act—or the JOBS Act—was signed into law on April 5, 2012, and for entrepreneurs and startup investors, the bill was easily one of the most promising pieces of new legislation to come out of Congress in… Read More

December 23, 2014 @ 8:00 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey deadline has been extended until 6 January 2015. In late November  The University of Cambridge teamed up with EY, the global professional services organization, and launched the European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey with the support of major European industry associations. As readers may know, this is the largest… Read More

December 22, 2014 @ 12:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced that up to £50 million will be made available for regionally-focused business lenders through the British Business Bank. Deputy PM Clegg commented on the announcement; “Britain’s economy isn’t built solely around big business. In fact, smaller businesses represent 99% of… Read More

December 21, 2014 @ 4:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

The debate surrounding the definition of an Accredited Investor always includes a discussion regarding the number of individuals in the United States who actually qualify.  Recently Rachita Gullapalli, a financial analyst at the Division of Economic & Risk Analysis (DERA) at the SEC, put together… Read More

December 20, 2014 @ 3:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

The presentation below was created by SEC Senior Financial Economist Vladimir Ivanov and incorporates data on the private placement securities market through 2013.  While there are other available reports the research provided by Ivanov is probably the best.  Prior to his first review in 2012… Read More

December 19, 2014 @ 10:40 am By JD Alois  |  

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has launched their online Electronic Filing Depository (EFD) directed towards the regulatory filing process for certain exempt securities offerings. Developed by NASAA, EFD is an online system that allows an issuer to submit a Form D for a Regulation… Read More

December 19, 2014 @ 9:41 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The University of Cambridge teamed up with EY, the global professional services organization, and launched the European Alternative Finance Benchmarking Survey with the support of major European industry associations in November. As readers may know, this is the largest study to date on crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending and other forms of… Read More

December 19, 2014 @ 5:40 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of the JOBS Act, the SEC has proposed amendments that addresses Title V and Title VI of the Act.  The revised rules relate to the thresholds for registration, termination of registration, and suspension of reporting under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act. The SEC will… Read More