As I have for many years, last week I attended the SEC's annual business conference on smaller companies in our nation's capital. Always love my trips to DC- I especially liked when my breakfast waiter called me Senator (flattery gets you a good tip)! Now...
Last week the SEC announced it is allowing the national securities exchanges to wait until October 2016 to implement its highly vaunted tick size pilot program. Originally the plan was to commence in May, but the SEC feels the exchanges (and FINRA) need more time...
It was in many ways the centerpiece of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act of 2012. At the signing ceremony all the President could talk about was the idea of "bringing Wall Street to Main Street." And while the JOBS Act has many other...
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulates US broker-dealers, a "self-regulatory organization" run by the brokers themselves and overseen by the SEC. A very popular online resource is called BrokerCheck, which lets you pretty easily check the regulatory history and licenses held by broker-dealers and...
Earlier today, the SEC's Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies, comprised of a number of smart and thoughtful people I know, made some terrific recommendations to the Commission. The biggest, something for which many have been waiting for quite awhile: that private placement finders,...
As we know, the new Regulation A+ rules passed by the SEC preempt state review of public offerings under its newly designed Tier II for offerings up to $50 million. States still can, however, require a "notice filing" of the offering materials, much as is...
As we still await the first completed Tier II Regulation A public offering, and rumors are swirling that several are getting close, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which regulates broker-dealers, has confirmed what most already know. In a release a few weeks ago, they...
We all know about the famous letter from one Virginia O'Hanlon in 1897 to the New York Sun newspaper asking if there really is a Santa Claus. Her father encouraged her and told her, if it's in the Sun it must be so. The paper wrote an editorial entitled,...
The big guys get hit and sanctioned for improper activity in the securities world. Big banks and investment banks all pay for misdeeds, some callously viewing it as simply a cost of doing business. The Enron and WorldCom scandals, among others, taught us that big...
According to The PIPEs Report (yes they are still around!), private equity funds active in the private investment in public equity (PIPE) market have raised quite a bit of money recently. The funds tend to have a big healthcare focus and invest in both public and...