William Michael Cunningham Files Amicus Brief in Galvin v SEC (15-1150)

WASHINGTON - Oct. 6, 2015 - PRLog -- On June 17, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recognized WIlliam Michael Cunningham as a "Friend of the Court" in an action (15-1149 consolidated with 15-1150) that two state securities regulators (Montana and Massachusetts) brought against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

On October 5th, Mr. Cunningham filed his Amicus brief in this matter.

As a friend of the Court, Mr. Cunningham provides independent, objective and unbiased testimony in support of the public interest. Mr. Cunningham has specifically relevant expertise, having authored two books on crowdfunding titled The JOBS Act: Crowdfunding for Small Businesses and Startups. See:

http://www.amazon.com/The-JOBS-Act-Crowdfunding-Businesses/dp/143024755X

and Top 50 Crowdfunding Campaigns: Fifty Most Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns [Kindle Edition] http://www.amazon.com/Top-50-Crowdfunding-Campaigns-Successful-ebook/dp/B00RKK4NL0

He has also posted an Online Class on How to Crowdfund at https://www.udemy.com/how-to-crowdfund/

Mr. Cunningham holds an MA in Economics and an MBA in Finance, both from the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. On November 16, 1995, he launched one of the first investment advisor websites.

On June 7, 2007, Mr., Cunningham proposed the creation of the Microcredit Stock Exchange, an early example of crowdfunding, to the Government of the District of Columbia:

"The Exchange would provide the framework for the provision of small amounts of equity capital ($1,000 to $250,000) to micro businesses in Washington…we suggest the initiative focus specifically on disadvantaged businesses operating in far Northeast and in Southeast."

The Government of the District passed the idea onto other, non-minority partners while ignoring Mr. Cunningham's request.

In comments to the SEC on Title IV submitted on March 27, 2015, Mr. Cunningham stated:

"State Regulators who have been bypassed are sure to object to the diminution of their authority..This means further delays in (the) ability to actually use the law." See: https://www.sec.gov/comments/jobs-title-iv/jobstitleiv-38.pdf

The Brief notes that "the nature of crowdfunding technology requires state-level preemption, in the same way that Facebook or Google require state-level preemption."

The Brief concludes with the observation that "Capital market regulators in other regions of the world have begun to enhance their ability to access capital using internet-based tools" and references Mr. Cunningham's lecture on crowdfunding at the Embassy of Italy, Washington, DC on September 16, 2015. https://youtu.be/s8SBq7i0Oag



Mr. Cunningham designed a "Food and Fashion" equity crowdfunding facility that focuses on equity investing in those two industries specifically for Italian companies while collecting small scale investments from investors all over the world. Note that "Food and Fashion" allows a focus on two industries in which Italy has a relative competitive advantage.

In addition, he noted that the State Council of China recently announced measures to support entrepreneurship and innovation using crowdfunding:

http://english.gov.cn/policies/latest_releases/2015/09/26/content_281475198633538.htm

Mr. Cunningham concludes by suggesting the Court vacate the Title IV rule, subject to the SEC immediately implementing Title III of the JOBS Act. He sees no need for a permanent injunction prohibiting the SEC from implementing and enforcing subsequent versions of the Title IV rule.