We sincerely appreciate the many contributions our Angel Capital Association (ACA) members, Angel Groups and other donors have made and continue to make to the Seed the Future (STF) Campaign. Since launching publicly in 2022, the Angel Investor Foundation (AIF) has raised over $1.4M towards the set $2.3M goal. With this generous support we have begun taking mission driven action and we are excited to update you on our progress.

On August 23, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted a number of new rules (the “New Rules”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”). The New Rules are designed by the SEC to increase investor visibility into adviser practices and to address certain practices that could lead to investor harm. The New Rules impact three categories of investment advisers: (i) all registered investment advisers, (ii) registered investment advisers (“RIAs”) that advise private funds, and (iii) advisers (both registered and non-registered) that advise private funds.

The reasons for failure are diverse, but almost never due to fraud. Unfortunately, the intense media coverage of a few spectacular failures such as Theranos and FTX (and the fraud associated with them) have sadly led many policy makers in Washington DC to conclude that fraud is rampant in this asset class and therefore further regulation is necessary to help “protect” investors. This perception is a remarkable misunderstanding, and this article will present data and analysis to set the record straight.