On February 27th and 28th, the ACA Public Policy Team convened in Washington, DC to discuss legislative priorities for the upcoming year and meet with numerous lawmakers and legislators, highlighted by a meeting with the new SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga. The trip started with the public policy team meeting to discuss this year’s priorities. Chief among these priorities is continuing to advocate for the accredited investor definition, QSBS and Section 1202, funding caps, and continuing to build out Angel University.

February 2024 - With the new year comes new things on the horizon for the Angel community. With the fiscal year budget still not finalized, there are still many on which to stay up to date. In our second edition of the Public Policy Quarterly newsletter, we discuss some of the most important updates on ACA’s main policy interests, including QSBS, investor accreditation, Section 1202, the accredited investor definition, thresholds and workforce development reforms.

ACA believes in the impact and benefits of angel investing to entrepreneurs, job growth and the economy. Deeply active on the federal legislative and regulatory fronts, ACA helps safeguard and galvanize the rights of American angel investors so that we can protect the foundation that fuels the startup economy. ACA represents our members, but we invite investors to lend their efforts - a combined voice matters.

Last week, the ACA Public Policy leadership, alongside members of GrayRobinson, made a visit to Capitol Hill to support expansion of Section 1202 exclusion of gain from the sale of qualified small business stock. ACA has been the driving force behind the legislation because it serves as a catalyst for investment and innovation within the Angel community. The legislation, HR 3937, has passed through the Ways and Means Committee and is awaiting debate on the House floor. In addition to Section 1202, the group also urged legislators to protect financial thresholds in the current definition while also opening up measures of sophistication with additional entryways.

Angel Capital Association (ACA) CEO Pat Gouhin and North Coast Ventures Founder and ACA member Clay Rankin were in Washington D.C. from March 27 to March 29, 2023. During that time, they met with relevant legislators and federal agencies to discuss ACA’s concerns regarding Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) regulations and the possibility of expanding the Accredited Investor (AI) definition.

The near-term crisis has largely been averted with the Federal Reserve, Treasury and FDIC regulators announcing that depositors regained access to 100% of their money starting Monday and that no losses will be borne by the taxpayer. The move should restore confidence and keep startups solvent and their employees employed, but there likely will be some longer-lasting psychological effects relating to capital risk that we should all be on the lookout for.

How the Accredited Investor Definition Unfairly Limits Investment Access for the Non-wealthy and the Need for Reform.

The bill will authorize the Department of Labor to conduct a three-year, multi-state study to review the outcomes of these programs and report its findings to Congress. Learn more about this kind of policy online.

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

Looking back over the past few years of uncertainty and effort, The Angel Capital Association has made it through stronger than ever because of the work of our dedicated members, volunteers and professional staff. We are deeply grateful to our dedicated volunteers and professional staff for their leadership, expertise and dedication to our mission. Without you, none of our accomplishments would have been possible and our hope for the future would be unfounded. More importantly, without you, our economy would be weakened and society’s ability to innovate would be stunted.

ACA believes in the impact and benefits of angel investing to entrepreneurs, job growth and the economy. Deeply active on the federal legislative and regulatory fronts, ACA helps safeguard and galvanize the rights of American angel investors so that we can protect the foundation that fuels the startup economy. ACA represents our members, but we invite investors to lend their efforts - a combined voice matters.