Politics, Legal & Regulation

August 15, 2014 @ 5:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

As the days turn into months, and the months turn into years, the JOBS Act, signed into law in 2012, remains an under-utilized piece of legislation due to missing final rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  While the debate continues as to what… Read More

August 15, 2014 @ 4:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The California bill that would legalize intrastate crowdfunding died in the state’s Senate Appropriations Committee this past week – dashing the hopes of small business leaders and advocates across the country’s most populous state. AB 2096, originally sponsored by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, missed the deadline… Read More

August 14, 2014 @ 3:20 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Assistant Professor of Management at New York University, Jason Greenberg and Assistant Professor at the Wharton Business School at University of Pennsylvania, Ethan Mollick recently released research titled, “Leaning In or Leaning On? Gender, Homophily, and Activism in Crowdfunding,” that revealed evidence that women are turning… Read More

August 13, 2014 @ 3:30 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Just a few months after Governor of Alabama, Robert J. Bentley, signed a crowdfunding exemption bill, which allows businesses that are located in the state to raise up to $1 million, the state’s securities commission held a few seminars this week to discuss what the… Read More

August 13, 2014 @ 10:38 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Ready to put an end to political corruption in the state of Kentucky, Gil Fulbright launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo last month for his new project called The Honest Politician. Within a few hours of its debut on the crowdfunding giant’s platform, the campaign reached… Read More

August 12, 2014 @ 4:23 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Regulators in Washington D.C. are proposing a new set of rules for crowdfunding that will allow the district’s businesses to raise up to $2 million a year.  A new twist in the intrastate crowdfunding movement as this would be “intra-district”. Washington Business Journal reports Department… Read More

August 12, 2014 @ 11:12 am By JD Alois  |  

In the ongoing debate about various aspects of the JOBS Act that legalizes equity crowdfunding, nine US Senators have submitted a comment letter to the SEC opposing the move to preempt state “Blue Sky” review.  The pre-emption of state review under Title IV of the… Read More

August 11, 2014 @ 12:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority has just released their guidance consultation on social media use within the financial industry and some crowdfunding industry followers remain concerned about the direction the document is taking. Sharon Flaherty, founder of boutique content marketing consultancy BrandContent, shared her opinion on… Read More

August 11, 2014 @ 8:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Mayday PAC earlier ran a crowdfunding campaign that raised over $5 million as part of their project to buy back elected officials that are representative of the nation.  The organization announced today three of the congressional races they will be supporting while simultaneously announcing they… Read More

August 9, 2014 @ 8:53 am By JD Alois  |  

The United Kingdom has focused great attention and energy on encouraging an economic environment of innovation and entrepreneurial growth.  While actions always speak louder than words from a US perspective, we sometimes look with envy at what is occurring the UK and not happening in… Read More

August 6, 2014 @ 10:48 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published their much anticipated guidance consultation on usage of social media by the financial industry.  Specifically in regards to promotion of services and offerings.  The publication is open for comments by interested parties until November 6, 2014.  The regulatory… Read More

August 6, 2014 @ 9:25 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Reacting to George Osborne’s recent announcement that the Government will require banks to refer rejected SME borrowers to alternative funding providers, Stuart Law, CEO and Founder of Assetz Capital, one of the UK’s fastest-growing and largest P2P business lenders, commented: “Osborne’s plan to require banks… Read More

August 6, 2014 @ 2:48 am By JD Alois  |  

Mayday PAC Has Crowdfunded Over 60,000 Individual Contributions. Mayday PAC, an organization that aims to elect a Congress committed to fundamental reform, has fulfilled their commitment to release the data about all contributors through July 31st including the names of those who gave more than $10,000 on… Read More

August 4, 2014 @ 8:02 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

Many of us are wondering when, if and how the SEC will finally roll out final regulations to implement major provisions of the JOBS Act of 2012, including Title III (investment crowdfunding) and Title IV (Regulation A+). So too were a group of Congressmen, gathered… Read More

August 3, 2014 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfunding legislation that was on the docket for discussion this past week in the state of North Carolina has been at least temporarily sidelined as the bill got caught up in some political posturing.  The economic development package now is uncertain to make it through… Read More

July 31, 2014 @ 11:42 am By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Last Thursday (July 24) Keith Higgins, Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, gave his testimony on the Division’s recent “activities and responsibilities” to the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services’ Capital Markets Subcommittee. Among the topics addressed by Mr. Higgins during his testimony… Read More

July 30, 2014 @ 11:19 am By JD Alois  |  

North Carolina is one of the states on the list where legislation is in process to legalize investment crowdfunding.  The states Senate Commerce Committee approved the equity crowdfunding bill earlier this month apparently putting it on track for final approval.  At the time bill sponsor Representative Tom… Read More

July 25, 2014 @ 12:04 pm By Georgia Quinn & Anthony Zeoli  |  

As promised, and I know you have all been waiting, is our comparative chart of crowdfunding regulations proposed by certain states. These regulations are not in effect yet and thus subject to changes and further amendments, but at this time this is how the states… Read More

July 25, 2014 @ 11:39 am By JD Alois  |  

Equitise has signaled their confidence the Australian government will move forward with the recommendations by the CAMAC report that advocates streamlining capital formation for small business.  Equitise is an equity crowdfunding platform that is already accepting registrants from both investors and entrepreneurs in anticipation of… Read More

July 23, 2014 @ 7:36 am By Georgia Quinn  |  

On July 10, thanks to the Dodd-Frank Act which mandated its reinstitution, the revived SEC Investor Advisory Committee met in a public forum to discuss certain securities law issues, including a subcommittee’s initial proposals on the definition of “accredited investor” (as defined in Section 501(a)… Read More