Tagged: perspective

October 23, 2016 @ 6:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Investing in early stage companies is a risky venture. The advent of internet finance has made it easier than ever before to gain access to purchasing securities in startups.  Correspondingly, the debate regarding risk versus return has always been a very hot topic. Recently Crowdfund… Read More

October 23, 2016 @ 12:59 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Almost a year ago, the SEC proposed certain amendments to the current Rule 147 which were intended to help foster, and increase the viability of, Intrastate crowdfunding. While little has been heard about these amendments since their release (except from Intrastate proponents like me of… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 10:51 pm By Marc Snover  |  

I have been immersed in the equity crowdfunding industry since late 2015 and have tried to collect as many different perspectives on the industry from as many experts as possible. And while it is hard to predict the ultimate fate of an industry that had… Read More

October 20, 2016 @ 11:14 am By JD Alois  |  

FINRA is a non-governmental entity that acts as a financial regulator over a wide swath of the financial industry.  Their mission is to detect and prevent wrongdoing in the US financial markets. FINRA also has enforcement powers. Last year alone they rendered over 1500 disciplinary… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 7:28 pm By Samuel Guzik  |  

Still Time to Fix the Fix Crowdfunding Act One of the cardinal rules of investing is  diversification – a critical ingredient for long-term portfolio growth.  This rule applies with equal, if not greater, force when investing in “Title III Regulation CF Crowdfunding” securities – open… Read More

October 19, 2016 @ 7:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Christian Catalini, a Professor at MIT Sloan School of Managment and one of the leading academics in the crowdfunding sector, recently published a new video sharing his views on the emerging investment crowdfunding sector. Catalini has long followed both the rewards iteration and accredited crowdfunding under… Read More

October 18, 2016 @ 10:15 pm By Therese Torris  |  

LendIt Europe gathered over 900 attendees from 50 countries on the banks of the Thames river to network and hear about the latest trends in online direct lending. The tone of the conference was clearly set by the UK keynote speakers. The UK being 4… Read More

October 17, 2016 @ 11:21 am By Georgia Quinn  |  

Let me begin by saying god bless Congressman Patrick McHenry. He is out there on the front lines actually trying to make a difference and help entrepreneurs and small businesses get off the ground and succeed. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished, and a… Read More

October 14, 2016 @ 10:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Senator Elizabeth Warren is rattling cages once again. This time, she is blasting SEC Chair Mary Jo White asking President Obama to fire or demote Chair White in a public letter. According to her letter, Warren states, “enough is enough” that Chair White has undermined… Read More

October 13, 2016 @ 10:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Reg CF investment crowdfunding (Title III of the JOBS Act) has only been actionable since May of this year. At the end of May, there were 10 FINRA/SEC approved Regulation CF platforms with only a handful listing live investment opportunities. The approved platforms at the… Read More

October 12, 2016 @ 10:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Ruth Hedges is from the early days of crowdfunding in the United States. Part of an original group of committed individuals who advocated on behalf of updating antiquated securities regulations, Hedges is a founding member of the Crowdfund Intermediary Regulatory Advocates (CFIRA); the group originally… Read More

October 10, 2016 @ 11:25 pm By Pawee Jenneeranon  |  

The Peer-to-Peer Lending Industry in Thailand Peer-to-peer lending, which is also known as social lending or crowdlending, has drastically increased in the recent years in many countries around the world. The total volume of peer-to-peer lending activities has been growing rapidly. A good example is… Read More

October 1, 2016 @ 3:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

Brian Korn, a prominent attorney in the alternative finance sector, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is on the offensive. Korn pointed to recent settlements with LendUp and CashCall as indicative of its aggressive approach towards financial service enforcement. At the end of 2013,… Read More

September 27, 2016 @ 12:01 pm By Amy Wan  |  

This article is a response to the draft paper referenced in the article entitled “Crowdfunding and the Not-So-Safe SAFE” authored by Joseph M. Green and John F. Coyle. There are many so words to describe my thoughts about the paper: patronizing, impractical, misguided—but mostly, unfortunate. One… Read More

September 24, 2016 @ 6:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fundera is an online platform that streamlines the borrowing process. They have integrated a diverse group of online lenders to allow small businesses the ability to apply on one site and receive offers from multiple direct lenders. No more trudging down to the local bank… Read More

September 22, 2016 @ 2:32 pm By Joe Green & John Coyle  |  

Earlier this year, on May 16, 2016, the final portion of the JOBS Act became actionable. The much anticipated Title III provisions and Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) went into effect, marking the official beginning of retail crowdfunding in the United States. While the industry is… Read More

September 21, 2016 @ 12:19 pm By Bruce C. Rosetto and Rebecca G. DiStefano  |  

Jobs creation and wages are in the spotlight again by voter demand this presidential election year and receiving attention from both Republican and Democratic parties. This begs the question whether an improved version of Regulation A under the JOBs Act of 2012 offers a practical… Read More

September 20, 2016 @ 11:02 am By JD Alois  |  

The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA), has criticized Canada’s regulatory approach to crowdfunding in a public letter sent to the Alberta Securities Commission and Superintendent of Securities, Nunavut.  While the letter is addressed to the two entities it can be viewed as a proxy… Read More

September 19, 2016 @ 9:21 am By Moshe Hecht  |  

We don’t do crowdfunding. I can’t tell you how often I hear these words, spoken with such confidence, by the head of a major non-profit. I’ve come to realize there are many reasons for this initial hesitation, and it’s a combination of many things, but… Read More

September 16, 2016 @ 1:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

File this one under recently discovered, but the European Commission published a report earlier this year that pretty much crushed any hope for a more synchronized approach for debt and equity crowdfunding across Europe. As highlighted in the editorial by Alessandro Lerro earlier this week,… Read More