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July 19, 2016 at 09:53 AM
The Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing the more than 40 comments it has received on a study on modifying the accredited investor definition and has received more than 100 offering statements filed since the agency’s capital-raising Regulation A+ rule was amended a year ago, SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White said Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting of the agency’s Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies, White said that since the final Reg A+ rules went into effect last year, the agency “has qualified nearly 50” of the 100 offering statements in what she dubbed “a very interesting and dynamic space.”
The SEC released Reg A+, which makes it easier for small companies to raise capital, under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act on March 25, 2015.
As to other agency rules to facilitate small-business capital formation, White noted that as of Monday, more than 60 offerings have taken place with a total of $4.4 million in funds being committed by investors under the Regulation Crowdfunding rule, which took effect on May 16.
Since that date, 12 funding portals have registered with the Commission and become members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, White said, adding that SEC staffers continue to “closely monitor the Regulation Crowdfunding and Regulation A+ markets and are available to answer questions.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in mid-June shot down attempts by Massachusetts and Montana securities regulators to nullify Reg A+.
William Galvin and Monica Lindeen, the chief securities regulators for Massachusetts and Montana, respectively, argued that because the SEC “declined to adopt a qualified-purchaser definition limited to investors with sufficient wealth, revenue or financial sophistication to protect their interests without state protection. But the judge denied their request to vacate the rule.
Keith Higgins, director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, noted during the meeting that SEC staff is “working on fine-tuning” its review of Reg A+ filings.
Accredited Investors
Meanwhile, the SEC has been taking comments on the SEC staff study released in December on ways to revise the accredited investor definition.
