SEC’s National Examination Risk Alert + Crowdfunding Legislation

Back in January, we reported that the SEC released a National Examination Risk Alert addressing investment adviser use of social media.

Now, the SEC’s guidance could be particularly important given the “crowdfunding” legislation Congress is currently considering. Crowdfunding is a method of capital formation where groups of people
pool money, typically by use of very small individual contributions, in
order to support the organizers that seek to accomplish a specific goal.

The Senate currently is considering its own version of a crowdfunding
bill, the Democratizing Access to Capital Act of 2011 (S. 1791). S. 1791 provides for registration exemptions for certain crowdfunded securities if the aggregate amount raised through the issuance is $1 million or
less each year and each individual who invests in the security does not
invest more than $1,000. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and
Urban Affairs held hearings on December 1 and 14, 2011, regarding this
legislation, but a vote on the bill has not yet occurred.

For more information on this, please see Pillsbury’s recently released Client Alert.