Nearly four years in the making, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday approved Regulation Crowdfunding, making good on a JOBS Act mandate to permit startups and small businesses to raise capital by offering and selling securities through crowdfunding. The vote marks the last significant rulemakings obligation the Commission had under the legislation.
The SEC also advanced separate, but related, proposals that, if approved by a later vote, would amend Securities Act Rule 147 for intrastate offerings and Rule 504 of Regulation D to further facilitate the ability of smaller companies to raise more capital under a set of important state and federal investor protections. Chairman Mary Jo White and commissioners Kara Stein and Louis Aguilar voted in favor of the new rule and proposed amendments; Commissioner Michael Piwowar opposed the full slate.
