Tagged: perspective

March 31, 2016 @ 9:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England has released the monthly statistics regarding lending and according to the BOE lending to non-financial SMEs grew by £0.7 billion compared to an average monthly increase of £0.2 billion over the previous 6 months. Certainly an improvement.  Louise Beaumont, an executive… Read More

March 31, 2016 @ 6:01 pm By Robin Sosnow  |  

The “democratization of investment” in historically closed industries have been the buzzwords of choice since the JOBS Act was signed into to law in 2012. But only since March 25, 2015, when the SEC voted to adopt the proposed rules implementing Title IV, was access… Read More

March 29, 2016 @ 1:20 pm By Amy Wan  |  

  In translating the JOBS Act into final regulations, the SEC sought to protect investors in myriads ways: limiting certain opportunities to accredited investors, implementing caps on the annual amount certain investors may invest, and requiring certain disclosures, among other things. Understandably, the bulk of… Read More

March 28, 2016 @ 4:00 am By Samuel Guzik  |  

  It’s been five months or so since the SEC published its long awaited investment crowdfunding rules.  Though Congress dictated that this task be completed by the end of 2012, the SEC missed the mark by nearly three years.  Now, with rules in hand, and… Read More

March 25, 2016 @ 12:34 pm By Shane Smith  |  

  Recently, two London School of Economics professors published this fascinating paper on equity crowdfunding. Some industry players were quick to suggest that it provided proof that all investors make informed decisions based on objective investment criteria. I take issue with those interpretations. Examining a few… Read More

March 21, 2016 @ 11:20 am By Amy Wan  |  

  Recently, JD Alois wrote a warning to investors about fraudsters attempting to impersonate officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission. This week, we’re warning borrowers and sponsors about scam artists that claim to work for or with crowdfunding platforms. Fraud in the lending or real… Read More

March 20, 2016 @ 10:47 am By Robert Riedl  |  

Well, the Federal Reserve has spoken again and though we are all listening, sometimes it’s hard to tell what all those carefully crafted paragraphs actually mean.  So here’s a quick snapshot of the top three things that you, as a small business owner, should know…. Read More

March 18, 2016 @ 8:18 pm By Louise Beaumont  |  

  The global alternative finance industry has undergone staggering growth in recent years. In 2015 combined market activity in the UK grew 84% from £1.74bn the year before to £3.2bn. Around 20,000 SMEs raised approximately £2.2bn in funding through online channels, representing a year-on-year growth… Read More

March 17, 2016 @ 4:52 pm By Amy Wan  |  

The RECF (real estate crowdfunding) community has been keenly interested in finding creative ways to use the new Regulation A+ that came into effect earlier last year. However, not all filings have been successful or made much business sense. Last year, I wrote about Groundfloor’s… Read More

March 10, 2016 @ 11:58 pm By Joe Whitwell  |  

SyndicateRoom pioneered the “investor-led” crowdfunding model in the UK. The brainchild of Gonçalo de Vasconcelos whilst studying for his Cambridge MBA, the company had an initial focus on the companies in the surrounding silicone fen.  As it’s profile has grown, so has the list of the companies it serves. To… Read More

March 8, 2016 @ 9:38 am By JD Alois  |  

Small business is extremely important for the economy. This is not just a US or UK issue, it is a global phenomenon. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the drivers of economic growth, job creation and thus wealth. Fostering an ecosystem that facilitates access to… Read More

March 5, 2016 @ 12:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

As the very first equity crowdfunding offer to go through the process of issuing shares and then listing on a public exchange under Reg A+, Elio Motors was bound to encounter a few bumps along the way.  One of the challenges was the transfer process… Read More

March 2, 2016 @ 9:42 pm By Ron Miller  |  

  The democratization of startup funding promised by the JOBS Act has already begun, with a handful of Regulation A+ equity crowdfunding offerings already qualified by the SEC to raise capital and many others in the process of gaining qualification. Considering the early interest in… Read More

March 1, 2016 @ 9:46 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

  To date, most crowdfunded investment opportunities have been limited to wealthy investors who meet the current definition of “accredited investor.” This has left an absolutely HUGE market of potential investor capital, represented by those individuals who currently do not qualify as accredited investors, virtually untapped…. Read More

February 29, 2016 @ 10:43 pm By Spencer Li  |  

Following the much-talked-about Ezubao $7.6 billion Ponzi scheme collapse at the end of last year, the perception and outlook of the Chinese online lending industry has grown increasingly negative both within and outside of China. Murmurs of regulation began floating around in early 2014 but… Read More

February 29, 2016 @ 10:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Louise Beaumont, an executive at GLI finance and vocal advocate of small business, says more needs to be done to support UK small business.  Reflecting on the recent statement by the Bank of England and their credit numbers, Beaumont believes the slight increase in lending… Read More

February 28, 2016 @ 8:33 pm By Joe Whitwell  |  

In the beginning there was the crash, then came the innovation. The innovators, at least in the fintech space, wanted to disrupt, which was perhaps a euphemism for what they truly wanted to do: destroy. Many had been recently let go from the banks and… Read More

February 28, 2016 @ 10:58 am By JD Alois  |  

The Australian Senate referred the provisions of the Corporations Amendment Bill 2015 (or Crowd-sourced Funding as it is called)  to the Economics Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by February 22nd, which was then extended until February 29th. The proposed bill has come under pointed criticism… Read More

February 25, 2016 @ 10:48 pm By Ron Miller  |  

As equity crowdfunding under Regulation A+ continues to grow since its implementation in June 2015, it’s no surprise that there is a plethora of information about this new financial resource. Unfortunately, that info is not always accurate. From my experience, it’s not just investors or… Read More

February 25, 2016 @ 1:01 pm By Manuj Grover  |  

Out With the ‘Old Boys’ Club’ Approach to Investment. What is a common characteristic of iconic companies like: Eastman Kodak and Blockbuster? As the world changed, all these great companies stood flat-footed as the competition took their dominant positions from underneath their noses.  The same… Read More