Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 11, 2014 @ 4:01 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

The State of Maine is the latest state to net a proposal to legalize intrastate crowdfunding. SP 568 and an amendment, LD 1512 (embedded), was proposed by Senator and Maine Senate President Justin Alfond (D-Portland) in the hopes of increasing access to capital for Maine… Read More

January 9, 2014 @ 4:00 pm By Samuel Guzik  |  

HOW TO MAKE THE SEC REPENT BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. In a previous article in Crowdfund Insider on November 4, 2013, I identified a number of serious problems with the SEC’s proposed crowdfunding regulations. I also promised readers to share my opinions on what… Read More

January 9, 2014 @ 8:21 am By JD Alois  |  

On the calendar for January 30, 2014 is the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) Compliance Outreach Program National Seminar 2014.   Outside of an expected welcome from Chair Mary Jo White the event will address a wide range of topics on compliance and enforcement issues…. Read More

January 6, 2014 @ 1:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Small Business Administration has scheduled a Small Business Roundtable on Crowdfunding. The event will be taking place on Wednesday, January 15, 2014 at the SBA offices in Washington, DC.  As previously reported the two hour meeting will feature prominent Securities Attorney and Crowdfund Insider columnist… Read More

December 31, 2013 @ 10:25 am By Charles Luzar  |  

Governor Rick Snyder has signed a Michigan intrastate crowdfunding bill into law according to a news release from his office on Monday. Predictions earlier this year that the bill could become law by the end of the year have come to fruition. Rep. Nancy Jenkins… Read More

December 30, 2013 @ 4:32 pm By Georgia Quinn  |  

By December 18, 2014 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had proposed or adopted regulations mandated by Titles II, III and IV of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (JOBS Act). Those regulations impact crowdfunding in many ways. Issuers will now have a… Read More

December 30, 2013 @ 9:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The following presentation reviews investment crowdfunding for Canada and more directly the province of Ontario.  Notable quotes include: SME’s generate 50% of GDP and 55% of Jobs in Ontario 25% of SME’s cease in first 2 years, 50% within the first 5 years Canada ranks… Read More

December 28, 2013 @ 1:27 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

A woman from Vancouver, British Columbia recently took to Indiegogo to raise funds for a trip to Iran. Alaleh Sahabi was able to reconnect with her mother through Facebook and wanted to fly back to Iran to see her for the first time in over 20… Read More

December 28, 2013 @ 1:09 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

AARP The Magazine recently ran an article on crowdfunding dealing with the possibilities (and perils) of the evolving means of capital formation. Kickstarter, RocketHub and EarlyShares all get mention in the piece alongside Sherwood Neiss of Crowdfund Capital Advisors. Rockethub’s Alon Hillel-Tuch and EarlyShares’s Heather Schwarz-Lopes… Read More

December 27, 2013 @ 1:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

According to reports, the hearing scheduled by the Ohio Division of Securities with former SoMoLend CEO Candace Klein has now been postponed until late February 2014.  This is the second postponement for the Cease and Desist notice which was originally filed by the state of… Read More

December 27, 2013 @ 10:18 am By JD Alois  |  

A report from the European Crowdfunding  Network (ECN) and partner Toniic, have published a report on Crowdfunding for Impact in Europe and the USA.  The document was authored by Oliver Gajda, co-founder and Chairman of the  ECN and Nick Mason, who is a former consultant… Read More

December 26, 2013 @ 4:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Finance Innovation Lab is believes in the need to innovate across the whole financial system at once for change to happen.  Supported by a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Finance Lab has produced a video about what is broken with today’s banking… Read More

December 26, 2013 @ 10:29 am By Charles Luzar  |  

TransCanada and its American subsidiary, Keystone, are in the midst of seeking approval for a new pipeline to run from Alberta’s tar sands to refineries on the Gulf Coast. Called the Keystone XL pipeline, it is a highly controversial project that has its passionate supporters… Read More

December 24, 2013 @ 11:29 am By JD Alois  |  

As we reported earlier this month,  the Canadian province of Saskatchewan has legalized equity crowdfunding.  We have just stumbled upon a video of the event where the announcement was made.  In Canada the legal authority over investment crowdfunding remains with each provincial government as opposed… Read More

December 23, 2013 @ 10:04 am By JD Alois  |  

Global consulting firm KPMG, along with international law firm Stibbe, have produced a report for the Flemish government (in Flemish) in Belgium.  The report was originally published in August but is just recently being shared publicly.  The report is a high level review as to how… Read More

December 21, 2013 @ 2:07 pm By Charles Luzar  |  

Some within Michigan political circles were predicting that an intrastate crowdfunding exemption in the state of Michigan could be signed into law by the end of the year. It seems that prediction may come to fruition, as the bill has now been vetted by both… Read More

December 20, 2013 @ 12:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a staff report to Congress on its disclosure rules for U.S. public companies, as part of agency’s ongoing efforts to modernize and simplify disclosure requirements and reduce compliance costs for emerging growth companies. The report, mandated by… Read More

December 19, 2013 @ 9:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, December 18, 2013, a debate was held in Westminster Hall regarding crowdfunding.  Labour MP Barry Sheerman led the discussion and described the opportunity as a bit of a Christmas present as this was the first ever debate on the innovative form of financing. The… Read More

December 18, 2013 @ 3:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Below are the actual proposed rule from the SEC which addresses Title IV of the JOBS Act – specifically Regulation A. A Fact Sheet also exists on the proposed regulations. As with other proposed rule changes from the SEC, there will be a commenting period… Read More

December 18, 2013 @ 2:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Proposes Rules to Increase Access to Capital for Smaller Companies The Securities and Exchange Commission earlier today voted to propose rules intended to increase access to capital for smaller companies.  The proposed rules are part of a mandate from Title IV of the JOBS… Read More