44 Finra Approved Crowdfunding Sites (CF Insider).

As of today, September 21, 2018, CrowdfundInsider reports 44 FINRA approved Reg CF platforms as three new platforms have been added to the group.

As we recently reported, since the Reg CF industry went live in 2016 approximately $135.3 million has been raised under this securities exemption. A very small sum in the broader ecosystem of early-stage funding. Most of the money raised to date has been with the assistance of just a handful of platforms.

While regulators, elected officials, and other prognosticators expected rampant fraud under Reg CF – the opposite has been true. The exemption was so strict it completely undermined utilization.

In the end, policymakers should focus on making Reg CF the exemption of choice for the very best firms. Today, the most promising startups use Reg D as the compliance demands are less stringent and thus presents a far lower cost for companies raising capital. Additionally, this means only VCs and the very wealthy have access to these investment opportunities and smaller investors are cut off from the opportunity.

While the changes needed to improve Reg CF may be relatively simple to fathom there is little political will to make these improvements. Either due to benign neglect, ignorance, or opposition, access to capital for smaller and early stage firms remains a problematic policy issue.

Read the full article here.