US SEC Chairman: Investor Advisory Committee is exploring how to promote participation of individual investors in private markets

According to Golden Finance, US SEC Chairman Paul Atkins delivered a speech at the Investor Advisory Committee meeting. Paul Atkins said it asked the SEC to approve a conceptual announcement to gather public feedback on whether the standard should be updated to reflect the evolution of financial markets and corporate legal structures. The SEC welcomes foreign companies seeking to enter the U.S. capital market. Our goal is to better understand the impact of significant changes in the number of foreign companies listed in the United States over the past two decades on U.S. investors and the U.S. market. Notable changes include the composition of foreign companies reported to the SEC and the trend of incorporation in jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands that are different from the locations of the company’s headquarters and operations, which are subject to governance frameworks involving shareholder interests. In view of these changes, I think it is necessary for us to think about whether the basis for the SEC to provide special facilities for foreign companies initially and the current standards are still reasonable. Meanwhile, today’s second panel discussion will explore the regulatory framework for managing the entry of retail investors into private equity market assets. Specifically, closed-end funds that invest 15% or more of their assets in private equity funds from 2002 to the nearest time are limited to investors who meet the criteria for qualified investors. Therefore, for more than two decades, retail investors who have not qualified investors lack the opportunity to access private equity assets. The Commission is exploring how individual investors can participate in private markets while protecting them from bad actors and fraud. Investors have demand for these products. However, we must also set up appropriate guardrails to guide pensions and other funds to reasonably invest in these private investment vehicles.