As part of the effort to make capital more accessible for small
businesses, the JOBS Act authorized the SEC to exempt annually up
to $50 million of a company's securities issuances from the
registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. In
response, the SEC has amended Regulation A under the Securities Act
to provide a two-tier exemption scheme for offerings that are
"qualified" as opposed to being registered. This new
scheme expands the pool of investors who can purchase securities.
The amendments also allow issuers to "test the waters"
before undertaking a qualified Regulation A offering.
New Regulation A+
On June 19, 2015, these amendments to Regulation A, known as
Regulation A+, took effect. Announcing the amendments earlier in
2015, SEC Chair White emphasized that "Congress recognized the
importance of providing new avenues for capital-raising when it
adopted the JOBS Act, which provides for crowdfunding as well [as]
Regulation A+." These amendments
