The SEC’s annual Small Business Forum took place earlier this year, and in recent days, the report from the gathering was published. The Forum has taken place for more than 40 years, and while the participants regularly provide good recommendations to the Commission, few will result in actual policy changes or regulatory improvements.
The SEC’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation led the meeting as it has in recent years. The Advocate is a relatively new entity mandated by Congress with a mission to support smaller firms, which are too frequently ignored by the SEC as the regulator is more geared to dealing with larger firms as well as pursuing enforcement actions. Yet while Congress’ intent was admirable, the reality has been somewhat disappointing as the SEC tends to ignore the Advocate as it pursues its own short-term goals and political ambitions.
So, what are this year’s policy recommendations that emerged from the Forum this past April? The list is below, and you may download the entire report here.
A good example of SEC failure is crafting rules for Finders. This is an issue that has been discussed and promoted as desperately needed to help smaller firms for many years with little action from the Commission. As for improvements to the Definition of an Accredited Investor, the Commission is actually working on the exact opposite as the above recommendation, as it intends to exclude more people in an upcoming proposal. So, while the list has many great proposals, there is little hope for change as outlined above. The actions of the current Commission, under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler, have been described by some as the Anti-Capital Formation Commission.
This content was originally published here.
