On June 18, the Securities and Exchange Commission requested public comment on ways to simply harmonize and improve the private securities offering exemptions from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. In its concept release, the SEC indicated that it “believe[s] our capital markets would benefit from a comprehensive review of the design and scope of our framework for offerings that are exempt from registration” in order to develop a “framework to promote capital formation and expand investment opportunities.”

The concept release identifies a number of topics to be addressed, including evaluating the overall framework and coverage of the private securities offering exemptions, adjusting the limitations on who should be permitted to invest in particular exempt offerings and in what amounts, facilitating issuer transition from one offering to another, expanding the role of pooled investment vehicles, including increasing the exposure of retail investors to early-stage companies through pooled investment funds, and updating secondary trading rules with respect to securities that were offered in an exempt offering.

The public comment period for the concept release will remain open for 90 days following publication of the release in the Federal Register.

The SEC press release and fact sheet is available here.

The SEC concept release is available here.