By: Dror Futter, Legal and Business Adviser to Startups, Venture Capital Firms and Technology Companies

The SEC announced a series of amendments (likely to be effective early next year) to the rules governing private offering exemptions – by far the most frequent path for venture fundraising.  The amendments retain the same “menu” of exemptions but make incremental improvements. For the early stage community, the amendments include a very useful provision that excludes “Demo Days” from being considered general solicitations provided certain conditions are met. 

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

The Angel Capital Association’s continued advocacy toward harmonizing and simplifying the existing framework to improve capital raising pathways and expand investment opportunities has yielded successful results for U.S. investors. 

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

After ACA’s multi-pronged, multi-year advocacy for amendment to the “accredited investor” definition, we are pleased to report we’ve met with success. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced yesterday that the definition of an “accredited investor” has preserved the existing income thresholds and has been expanded to provide more access to private equity by allowing investors to qualify based upon new criteria. 

By: Chris McCannell, Senior Government Affairs Consultant at GrayRobinson

GrayRobinson has created a side-by-side comparison of what is included in the Senate Republican introduced HEALS Act versus the House passed HEROES Act for easier understanding of what is included in each. 

By: Emily Angold, ACA Marketing Manager

Late last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the appointment of six new members to the Investor Advisory Committee.  Christopher Mirabile, Launchpad Venture Group and ACA Chair Emeritus, was among the new members. 

By: Gwendolyn Jaramillo, Partner at Foley Hoag LLP and Anna Annino, Associate at Foley Hoag LLP

Editor’s Note – ACA extends a huge thank you to ACA Gold Partner, Foley Hoag LLP for creating this timely article to educate the angel community on the recent changes related to the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).  Thank you for your work on behalf of angels and the startup ecosystem!

On February 13, 2020, the final regulations went into effect which implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA) and expand the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The new rules will have a significant impact on the angel investing community, especially for investments in certain industries as described further below. 

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

The Paycheck Protection Program under the recently passed CARES Act provides forgivable loans for businesses with less than 500 employees, but included a huge hurdle for many startups, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) “Affiliation Rules”. 

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

The U.S. House of Representative has just passed the historic $2.2 trillion dollar COVID-19 emergency relief bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to speed recovery across the U.S. economy.  These funds will be distributed to individuals, businesses and states in response to the coronavirus pandemic under H.R. 748. 

By: Pat Gouhin, Chief Executive Officer

The Angel Capital Association along with the Association of University Research Parks, International Business Innovation Association, SSTI, University Economic Development Association, Association of Public & Land-grant Universities, Center for American Entrepreneurship, National Venture Capital Association and Technology Councils of North America recently pledged their support for the Regional Innovation Program (RIS; now Build-to-Scale) within the Department of Commerce.  The RI Program encourages and supports the development of regional innovation strategies by funding flexible awards with a 1:1 match. This program received funding of $33 million in Fiscal Year 2020. 

By Marianne Hudson, Executive Director Emeritus

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a concept paper seeking comments on “harmonizing” securities offering exemptions a few months ago.  These exemptions, like Regulation D, which investors rely on for more than half of all private offerings, set the rules for how securities can be bought and sold without extensive registrations. This SEC paper provided a truly unprecedented opportunity for organizations like ACA to suggest improvements to regulations that impact angels and the startup companies we support.