By Lauren Mack On August 6, 2015, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (“DCF”) updated its Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“CDI”) with eleven new CDI on general solicitation and advertising in Regulation D offerings. That same day, the DCF also issued a no-action letter finding that an online venture capital firm’s procedures for creating online pre-existing substantial relationships did not constitute general solicitation and advertising …
General Solicitation May Trigger State Investment Adviser Registration in Certain States
Background As a consequence of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS Act”), beginning September 23, 2013, managers of private funds will be permitted to advertise and solicit the general public in an effort to raise capital for their private fund. While the requirements for investment adviser registration vary from state to state, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee provide an exemption to …
SEC Proposes Amendments to Rule 156 following repeal of the ban on General Solicitation under Rule 506
By Peter Tyson and Simon Riveles Following the SEC’s adoption of amended Rule 506, the SEC has proposed amendments to Rule 156 of the Securities Act of 1933 to extend the rule’s interpretive guidance on sales literature to private funds. The proposed amendments to Rule 156 reflect the SEC’s concerns regarding fraudulent and misleading sales literature, the incidence of which could increase given the adoption …
The JOBS Act
On March 22, the Senate passed an amended version of the Jump Start our Business Start-ups Bill (the JOBS Bill) which had been passed by the House with broad bi-partisan support on March 8. The bill is expected to be signed into law by the President. The law is meant to ease the regulatory burden on smaller companies and facilitate the capital formation process. The …
Easing the Ban on General Solicitation
As Congress grapples with ways to kick start the economy and spur small business growth and hiring, one proposal gaining momentum is to relax or even eliminate the long-standing ban on general advertising or solicitation imposed on private companies seeking to raise capital under the private placement rules of Reg D of Section 4(2) of the 1933 Securities Act.