Reg A+
FinFair 2015 Recap
I’d like to thank everyone who participated in FinFair 2015, Wall Street’s inaugural crowd-centric retail alternatives conference.
I launched FinFair because I wholeheartedly believe we are at a seminal moment in American economic history where the confluence of technology and regulatory easing are staged to deliver greater investing freedoms to the general public and instill a new culture of FINancial FAIRness.
When I started conceptualizing the framework for a “retail financial products” conference in early 2015, I really wasn’t quite sure how well it would be received. Despite the remarkable amount of financial, regulatory and technological ingenuity I saw occurring in the sector, I worried that Wall Street may have become too complacent servicing institutions to even take notice of a mounting yield-starved retail audience. I wondered whether the financial establishment was ready to bank on a new generation of micro-investors, or if it made any business sense whatsoever to produce an event highlighting an asset class that no one ever heard of.
But given the nation’s harrowing wealth disparity and its looming retirement crisis, I concluded that it was too important of an event not to organize, and it was certainly a personal financial risk worth taking. Planting the seeds for a prospering and just economy simply overshadowed any anxiety over ticket and sponsorship sales. In fact, it made the economics of one event seemed petty and insignificant.
Now that I have had some time to reflect on the sessions and observe FinFair’s aftermath, I couldn’t be more satisfied with my decision.
Firstly, FinFair provided me with a once in a lifetime opportunity to moderate a panel of Wall Street legends who collectively embody more than 200 years of IPO experience, and who took some of the world’s most iconic companies public. Their recollections of Wall Street as a “people business” where everyone helped one another set the tone for the remainder of the conference. Henceforth, the theme of “relationships” resonated throughout the day’s networking conversations, panels and presentations.
Some of my key takeaways from FinFair 2015 include:
- Despite all of the technological achievement, Wall Street remains a relationship business.
- In addition to significantly extending investor reach, technology is being used to complement – not replace – the traditional sales process.
- Technology will also be crucial in mitigating issuer costs.
- Blockchain technology will impact how securities will settle and clear.
- Marketplace lending typically produces greater returns than high yield bond funds and with less inflationary risk.
- Most of the retail capital is contained in advised accounts and has, for the most part, not been available for private securities. This is changing.
- Online finance platforms turn down 90% of deals that apply.
- Reg A+ is inspiring a tremendous amount of fixed-income product ingenuity.
- In the coming years, $30 trillion in assets will transfer to Gen X and Y. This new generation has a completely different perspective of banking, investing and asset managers.
- Financial advisors will be missing the boat if they don’t see the value proposition of Reg A+ or understand how millennials invest.
- We are not in a FinTech bubble … yet. IPO pops today are incomparable to 2000 (averaging an 88% pop today versus 500+% back then). Current opportunities for value creation from disruptive tech companies remain at all-time highs.
FinFair not only broke new ground with the introduction of the latest financial technologies, apps and investment products, it ended up garnering enthusiasm from the most unexpected places such as robo advisors and some of the largest alternative asset managers in the world. The outpouring of support and interest I continue to receive from both the financial establishment as well as the FinTech community has exceeded all of my expectations and has led me to my most significant takeaway: Wall Street is not only ready for, but is welcoming of a retail financial products conference.
As a result, I am happy to announce that the FinFair Conference will be held in New York City again next year. We will be expanding the program to include many of these additional players along with specialized workshops focused on helping financial advisors, CFPs and RIAs grow and maintain alternative assets under management.
The date for the second annual FinFair Conference will be officially announced in due time. In the meantime, please feel free to visit www.finfairconf.com to read FinFair’s ongoing media coverage.
Power points can be downloaded on slideshare at http://www.slideshare.net/FinFairConference.
FinFair videos are continuously being added to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/daraalbrightevents/videos. Feel free to watch at your leisure.
I look forward to seeing you soon!
Sincerely,
Dara Albright, FinFair Co-founder
What I Learned at FinFair 2015
P2P Lending & Bitcoin expert, Stu Lustman, reveals six things he learned at FinFair 2015. Highlights include:
- The Current Market Needs democratization
- Veteran Bankers favor Democratization too
- Reg A+ was the star but it’s still early
- More Investment Options are coming
- Individuals are beating Wall Street in Fixed Income Returns
- Structural Changes are happening in the market
Click here to read the details.
Thanks, Stu, for your participation and industry leadership!
Folio International VP to talk tech innovation at FinFair
In this enlightening Bankless Times article, FinFair speaker and Folio Institutional VP discusses innovative technology and custody solutions to allow financial advisors and RIAs to hold alternative assets under management. He also talks about portfolio management tools that enable fractional ownership of alternatives, allowing investors to mitigate risk through diversification.
According to McLaughlin, “The combination of lower minimums, more investors and fractional ownership allows the risk pyramid to be turned on its head.”
Click here to read the entire article.
FinFair speaker and BANQ founder preaches caution
Mark Elenowitz, the CEO and Founder of BANQ, understands the excitement surrounding aspects of the JOBS Act, but cautions those pondering a mini-IPO need to consider all of the impacts or they risk damaging their prospects over the long term. In an interview with Bankless Times, Elenowitz discusses SPOs (Sponsored Direct Offerings), FINRA Rule 0905 and Reg A+ liquidity.
The FinFair Conference Announces the Live Global Broadcast of Its Groundbreaking FinTech and Financial Alternatives Program
The FinFair Conference Announces the Live Global Broadcast of Its Groundbreaking FinTech and Financial Alternatives Program
NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – July 15, 2015) – FinFair 2015, the first conference to feature the leadership, products and technologies driving the crowd-centric retail alternatives market, is pleased to announce that it will be providing a live broadcast of Wall Street’s inaugural conference focused on the financial innovation emanating out of first-generation marketplace lending and equity crowdfunding platforms, and made possible by the implementation of Reg A+, a key component of the JOBS Act.
The film production is being handled by the video deal marketing arm of MediaShares, a company possessing a patented technology to facilitate crowdfinanced IPOs and known for broadcasting some of the biggest conferences in the industry including P2P and online eminent, LendIt.
The live broadcast will begin promptly at 8:30am EDT on July 29th and will continue to 6pm EDT. The footage will cover topics from the show including:
- Applications of Reg A+ from small business capital formation to private debt securitizations
- Enhancing small cap deal distribution & aftermarket support
- How Reg A+ will Transform Community Investing
- An introduction to next-Gen Broker Dealers and online financing platforms
- How Financial Advisors and RIAs will benefit from Reg A+
- Building vibrant venture exchanges
- New trends in liquidity and clearing
- Diversifying fixed-income portfolios with P2P, P2B and P2R debt
- Distinguishing between a FinTech bubble or a financial revolution
A comprehensive agenda can be found at http://finfairconf.com.
To register for the live broadcast, please visit http://finfairlivebroadcast.eventbrite.com.
For those interested in the unparalleled networking opportunities, feel free to join us in person at the IBM Innovation Center in New York City. Onsite participants will include: financial advisors, RIAs, fund managers, family offices, angel investors, investment bankers, analysts, exchanges, issuers, and select members of the financial media. General admission tickets are available at http://finfairconf.com.
Press passes for credentialed members of the press can be obtained by emailinginfo@finfairconf.com.
“There is an incredible amount of financial ingenuity transpiring in the crowd-based retail alternatives space. A plethora of new funds are emerging that possess sophisticated technologies and algorithms to help retail investors maximize P2P returns. For the first time, tools are being developed to help financial advisors and RIAs manage their clients’ P2P portfolios. Concomitantly, innovative custody solutions are being implemented to enable financial advisors and RIAs to maintain a host of alternative assets under management. Apps are being created to help the masses invest in their peers and more realistically prepare for retirement. New technologies are currently being employed to transform the way offering memorandums are structured, and the way in which securities are marketed to retail investors. All of these innovations will have enormous implications on the future of financial services and it’s my true honor to have the opportunity to introduce all of them to financial professionals and investors across the globe,” stated Dara Albright, co-founder of FinFair.
ABOUT FINFAIR:
FinFair is the first conference platform to feature the leadership, products and technologies driving the crowd-centric retail alternatives market. Being held at the state-of-the-art IBM Innovation Center in midtown Manhattan on July 29th, FinFair 2015 will feature a world-class educational program led by some of the most prominent figures in finance, fintech, and securities governance; live demos and unparalleled networking opportunities. Attendees will include financial planners and advisors, wealth managers, RIAs, family offices, venture investors, investment bankers, analysts, CEOs/CFOs and financial innovators. FinFair is the brainchild of Dara Albright, most known for her acclaimed conferences that have consistently broken new ground in the Wall Street convention space with the introduction of new financing structures and emerging asset classes such as crowdfunding, P2P & online lending. Additional information can be found at http://www.finfairconf.com.
CONTACT INFORMATION
-
FinFair Media Relations
(678) 802-4068
info@finfairconf.com
How Reg A+ Will Transform the Alternative Asset Landscape
Finalternatives’ Steven Lord recently sat down with FinFair Co-founder, Dara Albright, to discuss more about FinFair in general and Reg A+ in particular. According to Albright, FinFair will be “the first forum to highlight the modern applications of Reg A+ which are giving rise to a new breed of retail alternatives.”
Click here to read the interview and understand the impact Reg A+ could have on financial services.
FinFair speaker Steve Dresner talks about turning data into intelligence
According to Steve Dresner, “The biggest story is not providing access to data, but in turning that data into intelligence.” Click here to read more about how Dealflow is using algorithmic matchmaking to help underwriters enhance deal distribution and broaden their reach.
FinFair Brings Groundbreaking FinTech and Alternative Finance Program to Wall Street
Conference will unveil the next wave of financial innovation emanating from Reg A+ and first-generation online finance platforms
New York, NY, June 22, 2015 – FinFair 2015, the first conference to feature the leadership, products and technologies driving the crowd-centric retail alternatives market, is pleased to officially announce one of the most groundbreaking FinTech and alternative finance programs to penetrate Wall Street.
Crowd-centric retail alternatives are contemporary investment products aimed at bringing non-correlated yield and pre-IPO growth to mainstream investors’ portfolios. Crowd-centric retail alternatives typically include funds, managed accounts and online platforms that provide investors with access to assets such as peer-to-peer, peer-to-real estate and peer-to-business debt as well as JOBS Act inspired equity offerings.
Unbeknownst to many, there is presently a remarkable amount of financial innovation occurring in the crowd-based retail alternatives space – much of which has emanated out of first generation marketplace lending and crowdfunding platforms, and attributable to the implementation of key components of the JOBS Act – particularly Regulation A+.
Aside from serving as a vehicle for capital formation, the Reg A+ exemption is helping to create this new breed of retail alternative products by bringing coveted private debt, equity and real estate opportunities – previously reserved for only accredited investors – to the mass market. Emerging to support crowd-centric investment products are a host of analytics, tools and technologies designed for both financial advisors and retail investors.
In recent years, capital has been pouring into liquid retail alternatives at record paces. According to McKinsey, liquid retail alternatives will soon account for almost 50% of total retail revenues. And, Goldman Sachs believes that liquid retail alternatives are in the early stages of a 5-10 year growth trend – reminiscent of early-stage ETF growth and capable of becoming a $2T AUM opportunity.
Given the mounting demand for retail alternatives, the proliferation of online finance, the regulatory flexibility to convert private instruments into publicly-obtainable securities and the emergent infrastructure, the crowd-centric retail alternatives space hold enormous promise.
FinFair, being held at the IBM Innovation Center in Manhattan on Wednesday, July 29, 2015, will highlight trends in retail alternative investing as well as feature many of the FinTech platforms and financial products arising in the crowd-centric space. The format will include a powerful lineup of keynote presentations, interactive panel discussions, product demos and exclusive networking. FinFair’s impressive speaker roster can be found at http://www.finfairconf.com.
Attendees will be comprised of financial advisors and RIAs, investment bankers, private wealth managers, family offices, hedge fund managers, individual investors, issuers and FinTech innovators.
Admission tickets can be obtained directly at http://www.finfairconf.com. Complimentary press passes will be provided to pre-approved journalists and editorial staff. Please email info@finfairconf.com for information on obtaining a press pass.
Dara Albright, Co-founder of FinFair, said, “Since the 1990s, I have had the privilege of helping launch a number of groundbreaking conferences which first introduced new technologies, industries and asset classes to the financial community. Today, with our nation suffering from a harrowing wealth disparity and facing a looming retirement crisis, I consider FinFair to be the most important conference of my career. I look forward to assembling some of our brightest and most accomplished financial and technology minds as, together, we work towards diminishing the investment opportunity gap.”
“I firmly believe that many of the concepts and products introduced at this event will ultimately set a new precedent for financial services and cement crowd-centric retail alternatives in Wall Street history,” Albright concluded.
ABOUT FINFAIR:
FinFair is the first conference platform to feature the leadership, products and technologies driving the crowd-centric retail alternatives market. Being held at the state-of-the-art IBM Innovation Center in midtown Manhattan on July 29th, FinFair 2015 will feature a world-class educational program led by some of the most prominent figures in finance, fintech, and securities governance; an interactive leadership expo; live demos and unparalleled networking opportunities. Attendees will include financial planners and advisors, wealth managers, RIAs, family offices, venture investors, investment bankers, analysts, CEOs/CFOs and financial innovators. FinFair is the brainchild of Dara Albright, most known for her acclaimed conferences that have consistently broken new ground in the Wall Street convention space with the introduction of new financing structures and emerging asset classes such as crowdfunding, P2P & online lending. Additional information can be found at http://www.finfairconf.com.
#FINFAIR2015 @FINFAIRCONF FINFAIRCONF.COM
finfairconf.wordpress.com 