SEC Chair Atkins Addresses Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee: Broader Accredited-Investor Access, IPO Modernization and Crowdfunding Review
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins delivered remarks by video on October 27 at a meeting of the agency's Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, outlining work on accredited-investor access, IPO modernization and Regulation Crowdfunding.
On investor access, Atkins said expanding pathways into private markets, while maintaining fraud-prevention measures, has long been one of his top priorities. Last month the Commission issued notices on potential additional ways to qualify as an accredited investor, including passing an examination to be developed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) — an approach the Committee had recommended on three separate occasions — and public comments are being sought.
On IPO modernization, he said the effort aims to reduce regulatory friction and incentivize more companies to go and stay public, and that he has directed SEC staff to explore easing the Securities Act's 'gun-jumping' communication restrictions: re-evaluating limits on the content of communications and the types of persons who may receive them, drawing brighter lines on when communications constitute regulated 'offers,' and reducing 'foot fault' violations through straightforward cure provisions. He noted the Commission has not comprehensively reviewed its communication rules since 2005. The Committee last month issued recommendations supporting the Commission's proposals on optional semiannual reporting, filer-status simplification and registered-offering reform.
On crowdfunding, Atkins said that in the decade since Regulation Crowdfunding was adopted, more than 9,800 offerings have raised an average of about $364,000, and that he has asked staff to evaluate which aspects of the rules can be amended to reduce compliance burdens and improve their attractiveness for issuers and investors.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国证券交易委员会主席 Paul Atkins 官方肖像（2025年）。美国证券交易委员会供图，公共领域，来源：Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Official portrait of SEC Chair Paul Atkins (2025). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
