In remarks at a Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee Meeting, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce emphasized that the facilitation of capital for small businesses must remain an agency priority.
Ms. Peirce urged the Committee to consider:
- the extent to which companies should assess the potential requirement of disclosures that are reflective of "the interests of an ever increasing group of 'stakeholders'";
- whether certain market structures are better suited for facilitating liquidity for companies with "thinly traded securities";
- the primary concerns of small companies with regard to transfer agents, and regulatory methods to address such concerns; and
- whether other types of gig economy workers should be eligible for equity compensation under the SEC's November 2020 rule proposal (see previous coverage).
Commentary
While new regulations impose expenses on all companies, regulatory requirements bear heaviest upon small firms. The more impediments there are to raising money in private markets, and the more costs there are to going public, the more that smaller firms are disadvantaged in raising capital. Assuming that we are entering into a period of increased regulation of distributions of securities, small firms will be disproportionately impacted by the resulting difficulties, unless the regulators make very determined efforts to avoid, or at least minimize, the pain.
Primary Sources
- SEC Speech, Hester Peirce: Remarks at Meeting of SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee
- SEC Agenda: Meeting of SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee - Pulse of the Public Markets: Compensatory Offerings for Gig Economy Workers
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