Five years on, crowdfunding has firmly established itself as a part of the early-stage equity fundraising landscape, Karen Kerrigan, Chief Legal Officer of Seedrs, writes on BusinessZone.
In her op-ed, the manager argues that over the last year,
we’ve seen HM Treasury consider equity crowdfunding for the new Innovative Finance ISA and HM Revenue and Customs engage with platforms on changes to the Enterprise Investment Scheme.
Moreover,
at European level, the Commission has published a report on crowdfunding as part of its Capital Markets Union Action Plan, and announced changes to the Prospectus Directive specifically with crowdfunding in mind. Whilst government policy is inevitably moving more slowly than market developments, the acceptance of crowdfunding is encouraging.
On the British side, the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is currently reviewing the crowdfunding regulatory regime, she pointed out. It is clear, Kerrigan claimed, that
the FCA has come a long way in its understanding of the industry since 2014 when its rules were first introduced. And, far from indiscriminately cracking down (as a few scaremongering press have commented), the FCA is considering ways to make sure the industry is sustainable to ensure it grows in a way that both enhances competition in financial services and protects investors. Crowdfunding platforms should take some comfort in that.
Find out more HERE.
Oliver* 
You must be logged in to post a comment.