August 26, 2014
This proposal by the SEC is ill-conceived and clearly goes against the original intent of the "Crowdfund Act".
Accredited investors are not the same as a "crowd" but rather mostly composed of the wealthy upper 1 percent.
The intent of the legislation was to let a wide proportion of the population invest in a direct and transparent manner, while keeping the risk for them low by capping the amount of their investment. The intention is far reaching and not limited to a limited portion of the population, based on their wealth. The intent is to let capital flow to SMBs that have been hard-hit by the financial crisis, and let the general population regain confidence in finance, but a different one, one where they can have control of the allocation of their savings.
However, the ruling by the SEC is clearly anti-crowdfunding and favors the wealthy part of the population. In its current form this proposal should be completely revoked.
Sincerely,
Arthur Ling