October 2, 2012
Chairman Mary L. Schapiro,
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C.
Dear Ms. Schapiro,
Thank you for allowing this comment and what also appears to be a personal opinion period. Yes, do eliminate the prohibition.
I am a small business owner trying to take our company public. Permit me to start with the obvious this is the congressionally mandated JOBS act. Why are all these attorneys and law firms ring knocking and arm pit sniffing trying to make the SEC cancel the amendment when my tiny company cannot possibly jeopardize their turf? The day after we are allowed to advertise our Direct Public Offering, our company will add a million dollars to its annual payroll in programmers and staff alone. This will result in significant tax revenue at both the State and Federal level is this not the intent of the JOBS act?
During the past 13 months our company has followed the strictest interpretation of the SEC rules, and adhered to the purest intent of the quiet time rule, without looking for or exploiting any type of loop hole. In addition to other social media we are involved in a live radio show with estimated listeners of 16,000 per quarter hour. Our web site draws over 20,000 unique visitors per month, but I can only solicit from a very limited part of this audience. With the advertising ban lifted I will be able to do more in one day than I have been able to accomplish in the last 13 months.
We limit our investors to a minimum and maximum subscription amount, IAW SEC guidelines. My only objection is that I am unable to market to non-accredited investors. We have numerous requests from people who do not meet the accredited guidelines, that would like to buy stock how about a $1,000 maximum for non-accredited investors who want to get in on the ground floor of a company in which they really believe?
I know that we are not the exception to the rule, with our strict observance of SEC regulations. The SEC offers ample protection for investors within current rules. Also, I believe most businesses play by the rules and clear everything through CPAs and SEC certified attorneys.
In closing there are many comments below from lawyers about using the JOBS act as a portal into a Hedge Fund. Thereby destroying grandmothers financially, no grandmother gambles her lifelong investment funds so recklessly that is of course, unless it is her lawyer handling her portfolio. Perhaps the lawyers posting here should give grandma more credit than to judge her by their own behavior.
For those few who do not, there are laws with heavy fines in place with which to prosecute them, and for the truly deserving aint that what Leavenworths for?
Most sincerely yours,
Michael Rodgers
NOTE: The below is only for people who do not know what a Hedge fund is thank you to Investopedia.
Definition of 'Hedge Fund'
An aggressively managed portfolio of investments that uses advanced investment strategies such as leveraged, long, short and derivative positions in both domestic and international markets with the goal of generating high returns (either in an absolute sense or over a specified market benchmark).
Legally, hedge funds are most often set up as private investment partnerships that are open to a limited number of investors and require a very large initial minimum investment. Investments in hedge funds are illiquid as they often require investors keep their money in the fund for at least one year.
Investopedia explains 'Hedge Fund'
For the most part, hedge funds (unlike mutual funds) are unregulated because they cater to sophisticated investors. In the U.S., laws require that the majority of investors in the fund be accredited. That is, they must earn a minimum amount of money annually and have a net worth of more than $1 million, along with a significant amount of investment knowledge. You can think of hedge funds as mutual funds for the super rich. They are similar to mutual funds in that investments are pooled and professionally managed, but differ in that the fund has far more flexibility in its investment strategies.
It is important to note that hedging is actually the practice of attempting to reduce risk, but the goal of most hedge funds is to maximize return on investment. The name is mostly historical, as the first hedge funds tried to hedge against the downside risk of a bear market by shorting the market (mutual funds generally can't enter into short positions as one of their primary goals). Nowadays, hedge funds use dozens of different strategies, so it isn't accurate to say that hedge funds just "hedge risk". In fact, because hedge fund managers make speculative investments, these funds can carry more risk than the overall market.