
— Alan N. Walter —
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally proposed rules under the JOBS Act to allow companies to sell securities through the vehicle of crowdfunding. Comments on the proposed rules can be submitted in writing or on the SEC site through February 3, 2014.
I present for your edification (and enjoyment?) an overview (and partial cribbing) of the 585 page proposal. Needless to say, this writeup will, by necessity, not reflect all of the nuances of the proposed rules.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a source of capital that allows an individual or entity to raise funds through small individual contributions from a large number of people. Individuals interested in the crowdfunding campaign can share information about the project, cause, idea or business with each other and decide whether to fund the campaign based on the collective wisdom of the crowd.
A number of sites, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, currently allow funds to be raised through crowdfunding. In return for contributions, these sites give donors tokens of esteem, but not any equity in the project that funds are being raised for.
The federal JOBS Act, and the proposed rules under the Act, would change that. It would allow equity to be raised and securities to be sold through crowdfunding.
Click through below to see some of the details of the proposed rules.
Read moreSEC’s Proposed Crowdfunding Rules: An Overview