TheCorporateCounsel.net

It is that time of year again when lights are twinkling on the trees, the stockings are hung with care by the fire and the stores are jammed with shoppers, which can only mean it is time for the SEC’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to issue its 2023 Annual Report to Congress and the Commission. The SEC’s announcement of the 2023 Annual Report notes:

The report is a comprehensive resource on the dynamics of capital raising in communities across the country. Its contents include:

– Data on small business capital formation, broken down by:
> Small and emerging businesses
> Mature and later-stage businesses
> Initial public offerings and small public companies
> Women founders and investors
> Diverse founders and investors
> Natural disaster areas
> Rural communities
– Policy recommendations from the Office
– Highlights of the Office’s advocacy work and public engagements from fiscal year 2023
– Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee’s fiscal year 2023 summary of activities

The independent advocacy Office works to help advance the interests of small businesses and their investors. Based on feedback received through the team’s continuous public outreach, the Office has developed educational resources to help equip small businesses and their investors with tools to navigate capital raising. Throughout its activities, the Office proactively works to identify and address unique challenges faced by diverse founders and their investors.

One of the statistics that always blows me away in this report is that the amount of capital raised using Rule 506(b) private placements is $2.7 trillion, which is consistently more than the amount raised through any other exempt offering alternative or registered offerings. Despite the proliferation of offering exemptions over the past decade, Rule 506(b) is still where the action is!

– Dave Lynn