Industry Leaders Rally to Revive the Thriving Small Cap IPO Market of Yesteryear

Wall Street veterans comprised of analysts, underwriters and fund managers are set to gather in New York City on October 21st to learn how a new regulatory framework, social media and sophisticated data mining technologies are coming together to restore the once thriving small cap IPO ecosystem that fueled decades of economic prosperity.

This ground-breaking seminar is being hosted by Pepper Hamilton, a 124 year-old law firm with a highly regarded securities law practice, and organized by Dara Albright, most known for her leading-edge conferences that introduce emerging crowd-driven asset classes – such as p2p lending and securities-based crowdfunding – to the Wall Street community. The program will center on ways to structure, market and create liquidity for today’s retail-oriented small cap financings, and will include the introduction to the new “Reg A Crowdfinanced Offering”.

Key architects of the JOBS Act – Congressman Patrick McHenry and David Weild IV, Chairman of IssueWorks and former Vice Chairman of NASDAQ – will highlight legislative solutions for a workable unaccredited crowdfunding paradigm as well as a robust aftermarket for contemporary small cap issues like the Reg A Crowdfinanced Offering. Additionally, Congressman McHenry will discuss his initiative to modernize securities laws so that they are up to date with technological progress and changing market demographics.

Retail investors are on the rise, and they are starting to demand access to the same growth opportunities afforded to accredited investors.  As such, the industry is in dire need of new financing structures conducive to both smaller investors as well as emerging issuers. In December 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new rules to the existing Regulation A exemption that include sparing it from State Blue Sky review. Considering Title III, as proposed, is deemed too onerous and expensive for small issuers; Title II excludes small investors altogether; and intrastate crowdfunding bears harsh penalties for inadvertently offering shares beyond state borders, “blue sky pre-empted Reg A crowd-financings” could very well become the most pragmatic vehicle.

Some of the industry’s most influential legal minds – Brian Korn, Of Counsel at Pepper Hamilton LLC, Samuel Guzik, Partner of Guzik & Associates, Louis Taubman, Partner of Hunter Taubman Weiss LLP, Doug Ellenoff, Partner at Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP and Sara Hanks, Founder of Crowdcheck – will be there to debate the merits of Title II, Rule 147 as well as Titles III and IV as proposed.

Finally, leading marketing and data experts – Steven Dresner, CEO of Dealflow, Gene Massey, CEO of MediaShares and Matthew Henninger, CEO of CEDI-US – will demonstrate innovations in securities marketing which are designed to help issuers and intermediaries attract the mounting retail crowd.

“It is truly an honor for me to have the opportunity to assemble some of yesterday and today’s most well-respected securities professionals. Particularly during this transformational period in capital markets history, it’s essential that all of the players come together to help design a practicable blueprint for retail growth investing. Framed correctly, ‘blue sky pre-empted Reg A crowd-financings’ could very well be that panacea which decreases the harrowing wealth gap and fosters a new period of economic growth,” stated Albright.

For those who wish to join us in person, there are a few more seats available which can be reserved by clicking here. For those who would like to participate virtually, please contact dsa@daraalbright.com. Press passes are also available to credentialed members of the media.

About Dara Albright Events

Since 2011, Dara Albright has been helping set the direction of the crowdfinance industry through leading-edge industry articles and acclaimed conferences and webinars that introduce crowd-driven asset classes such as crowdfunding and p2p lending to the financial community. She produced the nation’s first crowdfunding conference in January 2012 which was headlined by key JOBS Act architects: Congressman Patrick McHenry and Dave Weild. That event helped birth the crowdfinance movement and led to the initiation of the industry’s trade and leadership organizations of which Albright co-founded. In 2013, she co-founded LendIt, the largest and most recognized global p2p & online lending conference organization. Some of the most prominent figures in the financial industry as well as the legislature continue to participate in Dara Albright events. For additional information, please visit www.daraalbright.com.