SEC Chairman Wants to Let More Main Street Investors In on Private Deals; Jay Clayton outlines overhaul plans in interview, says changes could happen 'pretty quickly'

If more retail investors got access to companies before they launched an initial public offering, the move would create another alternative for companies that already have ample access to private cash, and a possible new avenue for brokers' commissions. The chance to devote part of an individua...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inWSJ Pro. Central Banking
Main Author Michaels, Dave
Format Trade Publication Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Dow Jones & Company Inc 30.08.2018
Subjects
Clayton, Walter J
Entrepreneurs
Initial public offerings
Investments
Musk, Elon
Startups
Trump, Donald J
Venture capital
United States > US
Silicon Valley-California
Nashville Tennessee
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Summary:If more retail investors got access to companies before they launched an initial public offering, the move would create another alternative for companies that already have ample access to private cash, and a possible new avenue for brokers' commissions. The chance to devote part of an individual portfolio to private companies would provide an investor more diversification and the chance to benefit when firms go public, said Lonne Jaffe, a managing director at Insight Venture Partners, a venture-capital and private-equity firm. Write to Dave Michaels at dave.michaels@wsj.com A New Look at Fundraising The SEC plans to issue a white paper in the coming months that will explore: * Whether there should be broader access to investing in privately held companies, perhaps by adjusting restrictions on which types of sophisticated investors can buy stakes * How to streamline rules that govern private fundraising by smaller companies * How to simplify other fundraising channels that let companies raise limited amounts of money through less-regulated public offerings * Whether technology firms with business models built around the "gig economy" should have an easier way to compensate their workers by giving them stock in the company Credit: By Dave Michaels