BBA alum and founder/CEO of SecondMarket Barry Silbert testified before Congress recently in regards to proposed legislation that would increase the amount of shareholders private companies are allowed before publicly disclosing finances.

Silbert spoke to the House Financial Services Committee on the Private Company Flexibility and Growth Act (PDF), which would amend aspects of the long-standing Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The amount of allowed shareholders would rise from 500 to 1,000.

According to Silbert, the change would benefit start-up companies as they move toward an IPO.

“It is imperative that decades-old rules and regulations are updated to reflect the new realities of market structure, technology, and information flow to better support the thousands of innovative, growth-stage companies in our country,” Silbert writes. “In this period of slow economic growth and increasing global competitiveness, we need to support these types of companies with all available resources and ensuring cost-effective  access to capital is an important first step.”

CLICK HERE FOR WRITTEN TESTIMONY (PDF)

SecondMarket is an SEC-regulated alternative trading system, registered broker dealer and member of FINRA, MSRB and SIPC.

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