Strategy

June 10, 2017 @ 10:15 am By Cole Lyons  |  

Sepaking at the recent WSJ D.Live Asia event in Hong Kong, Ping An CIO Jonathan Larsen said Ping An is launching a new fund to invest in early stage Fintech ranging from $10 million to $30 million, according to a report from Dow Jones (here)…. Read More

June 9, 2017 @ 5:16 pm By Duncan Keene  |  

Traditional banking is facing tough times ahead. It’s easy to see why. The UK has lost 40% of its banks and building societies since 1989, considering usage of online banking has more doubled since 2007. After all, who wants to queue for an hour to see… Read More

June 8, 2017 @ 3:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

Some crowdfunding platforms are accepting money from international investors. First, to clarify, is is allowable under US regulations but there are caveats to the rules. In the US, there are three different securities exemptions where you can publicly promote your offerings online: Reg D (506c),… Read More

June 5, 2017 @ 9:25 am By Joshua G. Hamilton, James H. Moon & Bret M. Geckeler  |  

Crowdfunding regulations were enacted with the goal of providing small businesses access to capital without imposing arduous registration and disclosure burdens.[i]  In that regard, the regulations have shown significant promise. Commentators have rightfully highlighted the substantial benefits to both issuers and investors based on their… Read More

June 4, 2017 @ 8:32 pm By Soren Godbersen  |  

In recent years, a growing number of online platforms have begun to offer direct investments in residential properties, allowing individual investors to access this asset class much more readily and at lower minimums. Some platforms offer investments in apartment buildings (multifamily properties, in industry lingo),… Read More

June 1, 2017 @ 5:20 pm By Kathleen Minogue  |  

In Part 1 of this series on How To Fix Crowdfunding Education, I made the case for beginning all crowdfunding education by teaching the core fundamental that cuts across all forms of crowdfunding: participation. Part 2 addresses a key step we must take to make… Read More

May 29, 2017 @ 1:17 pm By Barry James  |  

It may be counterintuitive but the research has been done and the results are now in – and it’s as we’ve been saying for almost five years. Fraud in crowdfunding is not just almost non-existent –  so much so as to be hard to measure,… Read More

May 28, 2017 @ 3:41 pm By Adrienne Gonzalez  |  

In their 2016 Year in Giving report, GoFundMe CEO Rob Solomon wrote; “When disaster or violence struck, ordinary people took it upon themselves to help heal the world by starting GoFundMes to provide relief and comfort to those who needed it.” The report highlights some… Read More

May 23, 2017 @ 11:46 am By JD Alois  |  

NextSeed CEO Youngro Lee shares what is working & what is not under Reg CF. NextSeed was the very first, crowdfunding portal to receive FINRA approval. But the investment crowdfunding platform was honing its skills and processes under the Texas intrastate crowdfunding exemption before Reg… Read More

May 20, 2017 @ 4:30 pm By Scott Andersen & George S. Georgiades  |  

With the one year anniversary of Crowdfunding under Regulation Crowdfunding occurring on May 16th, business executives and compliance officers at registered Crowdfunding Portals (CFPs) should be actively preparing for their first regulatory examination by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).   FINRA’s 2017 exam cycle… Read More

May 19, 2017 @ 3:15 pm By Therese Torris  |  

Twino, one of the leading Baltic lending marketplace, has produced in conjunction with KPMG Baltics a report called Alternative Lending Index which assesses the potential of alternative finance in 23 European countries based on a set of economic credit data. While the report does not… Read More

May 17, 2017 @ 12:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

Oliver Wyman is out with a report on the emerging Insurtech sector. Oliver Wyman is a global management consultancy operating in 30 different countries. For this specific report, they partnered with Policen Direkt Group in Germany, an insurance technology firm. The authors believe that the… Read More

May 16, 2017 @ 12:35 pm By Catherine Yushina  |  

    The new crowdfunding rules – Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) – are celebrating 1 year anniversary of being in force on May 16th. The new rules open new opportunities for both sides. Business owners have an alternative to funding their companies from a bigger… Read More

May 16, 2017 @ 6:29 am By Erin Hobey  |  

“…crowdfunding is an incredible resource for independent artists and is a powerful way to maintain creative control of our work.” This time of year is filled with graduations and future plans for promising students, artists and songwriters.  Kickstarter covers an interesting earful of projects from songwriter students who… Read More

May 14, 2017 @ 5:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month I was running CNBC in the background and a commercial came up that caused me to pause. On the screen was a besuited old white male pitching the next great investment. Coming off a bit like a used-car salesman, I learned later… Read More

May 11, 2017 @ 4:58 am By Erin Hobey  |  

In honor of its seventh birthday, GoFundMe reached out seven of its top organizers for advice for running a great campaign. Here’s what they shared: 1. Push past the nervousness. “Take action on the things that make you afraid — it’s an opportunity for the biggest reward. ” Campaign… Read More

May 10, 2017 @ 9:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

  Desiree Vargas Wrigley is the founder of two companies, GiveForward and Pearachute. GiveForward is the well-known donations based crowdfunding platform that was recently acquired by YouCaring. The combined platforms have helped to raise over $800 million for medical expenses and other charitable causes. Vargas Wrigley… Read More

May 10, 2017 @ 10:34 am By JD Alois  |  

Robert L. Malin, Managing Director and Head of Equity Capital Markets at WR Hambrecht + Co, delivered a presentation today at a meeting of the SEC’s Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies (ACSEC) on the emerging Reg A+ market.  Hambrecht is a broker dealer… Read More

May 10, 2017 @ 8:27 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) posted an Investor Bulletin yesterday (May 9) addressing the utilization of “Simple Agreement for Future Equity” commonly referred to as SAFEs. These securities are frequently utilized in equity crowdfunding offers, specifically under the Reg CF exemption. The Bulletin, from… Read More

May 9, 2017 @ 1:13 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

The EIS Association (EISA) has produced a guide to the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). “Grow your business with the Enterprise Investment Scheme” is designed as an introduction to EIS and SEIS for businesses that are considering seeking external funding…. Read More