SEC Adopts Rules to Permit Equity Crowdfunding for Non-Accredited Investors

Washington D.C. – The State Science & Technology Institute (SSTI) writes, “On April 5, 2012, President Obama signed Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) into law with the intent of helping small businesses and startups raise capital through several changes to long-standing securities regulations, including a change that would allow companies to raise equity from both accredited and non-accredited investors through a publicly solicited crowdfunding campaign (Title III of the Jobs Act). However, it took over three years for the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to finally adopt the rules that will permit companies to offer and sell securities through crowdfunding. The new rules also include amendments to existing Securities Act rules to facilitate intrastate and regional securities offerings."

​"Final rules include:

• Permit a company to raise a maximum aggregate amount of $1 million through crowdfunding offerings in a 12-month period;
• If either their annual income or net worth is less than $100,000, the investor cannot invest the greater of $2,000 or 5 percent of their annual income or net worth;
• If both their annual income and net worth are equal to or more than $100,000, the investor can invest up to 10 percent of their annual income or net worth; and,
• During the 12-month period, the aggregate amount of securities sold to an investor through all crowdfunding offerings may not exceed $100,000.

 
A company relying on the rules would be required to conduct its offering exclusively through one intermediary platform at a time.”
 
For the full story: http://ssti.org/blog/sec-adopts-rules-permit-equity-crowdfunding-non-accredited-investors?utm_source=SSTI+Weekly+Digest&utm_campaign=77868b6cc3-SSTI_Weekly_Digest_for_11_5_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ecf5992d4c-77868b6cc3-220101229.