Way back in 2017, one of our earliest posts discussed the legal and financial risks to both the issuer and the finder if an issuer pays a finder’s fee in connection with a sale of securities in the United States, and the...more
One of the most overlooked and problematic issues concerning capital raising by small businesses, venture capital funds, and private equity funds is the use of “finders” to assist issuers with raising capital. Those who act...more
New York AG Letitia James moved to stop cryptocurrency trading platform Coinseed, Inc. (“Coinseed”) from allegedly executing unauthorized trades and acting as an unregistered commodity broker-dealer....more
What You Need To Know: •The SEC proposes to exempt two types of Finders from broker-dealer registration pursuant if they satisfy certain conditions. •Tier I Finders may provide potential investors’ contact information to...more
On October 7, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) voted 3-2 to propose a conditional exemption (“Exemption”) to permit natural persons to engage in limited securities activities as “finders” on behalf of...more
This alert provides a brief discussion of the practice of using unregistered “finders” in the context of a private securities offering. We provide background on the process, discuss various risks and considerations, and...more
I was catching up on my reading and came across a column in Investment News by Mark Schoeff that described the results of a recent FINRA arbitration, results which I found a bit alarming. I caution you: reading too much into...more
On June 30, 2017, the SEC and the U.S. Attorney brought parallel civil and criminal fraud charges against Renwick Haddow, the owner of an unregistered broker-dealer entity named InCrowd Equity Inc., and two corporate entities...more
The fundraising process requires countless hours to develop and refine an investor pitch. While the majority of that time will be focused on how to find and raise money from the best investors on the best terms, it is...more