About the Office
The Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation is an independent office that was established in January 2019 pursuant to the bipartisan SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016 to advance the interests of small businesses and their investors at the SEC and in the capital markets, from early-stage startups raising initial capital, to later-stage private companies whose founders and investors are seeking liquidity, all the way to smaller public companies. The Office proactively works to identify and address unique challenges faced by minority-owned, women-owned, rural, and natural disaster area small businesses and their investors. The Office approaches its advocacy mission by:
- Working with small businesses and their investors to understand their capital formation issues through education and outreach;
- Analyzing the potential impact of proposed SEC and self-regulatory organizations (SROs) rules and regulations likely to significantly affect small businesses and their investors; and
- Helping small businesses and their investors resolve issues with the SEC and SROs by recommending policy changes to Congress and the Commission.
Annual Report to Congress
In December 2023, our Office delivered its 2023 annual report to Congress and the Commission. The report is a comprehensive resource on the dynamics of capital raising in communities across the country and includes our Office’s recommendations for improving capital-raising policy.
Our Office’s prior annual reports are available on our Reports page.
SEC’s 42nd Annual Small Business Forum
The Office is charged by Congress with leading 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 2023 Forum took place over four virtual sessions April 24-27, featuring speakers with in-depth knowledge of the issues facing small businesses across the country.
On September 26, 2023, the Commission delivered the 2023 Small Business Forum Report to Congress. The report summarizes the 42nd annual Forum proceedings, including the recommendations developed by participants for changes to improve the capital-raising framework and the Commission’s responses to those recommendations.
Additional information about the 2023 Forum, including a video archive of the discussions, is available on the Forum Website.
Reports and materials from prior Forums are also available.
Strategic Plan 2021-2025
The Strategic Plan is a roadmap to guide our Office’s decisions and align actions with mission execution. The plan outlines four key goals, with strategies and initiatives underpinning each:
- Goal 1: Engage with small businesses and their investors to solicit views on relevant capital raising issues.
- Goal 2: Educate small businesses and their investors about capital raising rules to reduce barriers to entry and increase compliance.
- Goal 3: Collaborate on pragmatic policy solutions to address capital raising challenges faced by small businesses and their investors.
- Goal 4: Empower a mission-driven team to leverage varied perspectives to solve the complex problems of an evolving and increasingly diverse capital market.
View more of our Office’s reports and other publications on our Reports page.
Stacey Bowers
Director, Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation
Contact the Office
202-551-5407
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Modified: Feb. 2, 2024