The Securities and Exchange Commission today released a report to Congress summarizing policy recommendations made during the 42nd Annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation. The report provides a summary of the forum proceedings, including the recommendations developed by participants for changes to the capital raising framework and the Commission’s responses to those recommendations.

The forum, which took place over four virtual sessions on April 24-27, featured speakers with in-depth knowledge of issues facing small businesses across the country and their investors, spotlighting the following topics:

• Exploring the Early-Stage Landscape: Trends and Strategies in Capital Raising

• Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Laying the Groundwork to Support Small Business and Their Investors

• Investing in Small Business: Successes and Challenges Facing Smaller Funds; and

• Accessing Public Markets: Becoming and Staying a Public Reporting Company 

The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation is charged by Congress with hosting the SEC’s annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation, where members of the public and private sectors gather to provide feedback to improve capital-raising policy. The Office thanks the speakers, participants, advisory planning group members, and SEC staff members who made this year’s forum a success. Video archives of the discussions are available online.

The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation is an independent office established in January 2019 to advance the interests of small businesses within the SEC and in our capital markets. It works to identify and address unique challenges faced by minority-owned, women-owned, rural, and natural disaster area small businesses and their investors.