SEC Advisory Committee Releases Recommendations for Small Businesses

The SEC organized the "Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies" to provide the SEC with advice as to the regulation of such companies under the securities laws, consistent with both the goals of capital formation and of protecting investors. The Committee issued four letters with various recommendations, as described below:

• Trading Spreads for Smaller Exchange-Listed Companies (March 21, 2013) (larger tick sizes should be adopted as to small issuers to encourage market-making)
• Specialized Disclosure Requirements (March 21, 2013) (providing an exemption from the Dodd-Frank requirements as to disclosure relating to conflict minerals and payments by resource extraction issuers)
• Disclosure and Other Requirements for Smaller Public Companies (March 21, 2013) (providing "scaled" down disclosure and reporting requirements for small issuers)
• Separate U.S. Equity Market for Securities of Small and Emerging Companies (March 21, 2013) (allowing for separate trading markets, in which participation would be limited to accredited investors, for small and emerging companies).

For a compilation of news articles related to the JOBS Act, link to "Current Topics - JOBS Act."