North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) officials are expressing opposition to private securities markets expansion, advocating additional public markets impact and investor protections research.
The organization is encouraging Congress to take no further action on the matter, noting public markets have historically been a significant source of capital and liquidity for growing companies and their shareholders, but the distinctions between public and private markets have been gradually diminishing.
“NASAA is concerned our current regulatory regime has gone too far in favoring private capital raising over public markets,” Michael Pieciak, immediate past president of NASAA and Vermont’s Commissioner of Financial Regulation said during recent Congressional testimony to assess the impact the growth in private markets has had on public markets and retail investors. “We are deeply concerned over the lack of information about private markets that now dwarf the public markets in size, leaving policymakers without the data necessary to facilitate informed policymaking. We urge Congress to go no further in expanding or adding new exemptions until a more careful study of the impact on public markets and investor protection can be undertaken.”
The NASAA said it favors untitled draft legislation requiring the SEC to submit a report to Congress about securities exempted from registration under the Securities Act before finalizing reforms creating new registration exemptions or expand current exemptions.