SEC.gov | Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation

About the Office

The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation is an independent office that was established in January 2019 pursuant to the bipartisan SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016 to advance the interests of small businesses and their investors at the SEC and in the capital markets, from early-stage start-ups raising initial capital, to later-stage private companies whose founders and investors are seeking liquidity, all the way to smaller public companies. The Office proactively works to identify and address unique challenges faced by minority-owned, women-owned, rural, and natural disaster area small businesses and their investors. The Office approaches its advocacy mission by:

Working with small businesses and their investors to understand their capital formation issues through education and outreach;
Analyzing the potential impact of proposed SEC and self-regulatory organizations (SROs) rules and regulations likely to significantly affect small businesses and their investors; and
Helping small businesses and their investors resolve issues with the SEC and SROs by recommending policy changes to Congress and the Commission.

Annual Report to Congress

The Office prepares an annual report to Congress that includes an overview of its recent advocacy work, data on the state of capital formation, a summary of critical capital formation issues facing small businesses and their investors (with a spotlight on underrepresented founders and investors), and policy recommendations for future action. Download the FY2020 report by clicking here.

Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation

Cover of the Report on the 39th Small Business Forum

The Office is charged by Congress with leading the SEC’s annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation, where members of the public and private sectors gather to craft suggestions to improve securities policy impacting businesses and investors from start-ups to smaller public companies. For more information on the Forum, including the 2020 report and video gallery, click here.