SEC and NASAA Issue Summary of Securities Laws Relating to Opportunity Zone Investments
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) have issued a summary that explains the application of the federal and state securities laws to opportunity zone investments.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) have issued a summary that explains the application of the federal and state securities laws to opportunity zone investments.
The opportunity zone program was established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017 to provide tax incentives for long-term investing in designated economically distressed communities called opportunity zones.
The SEC and NASAA noted that the summary, which can be read here,is intended to help participants in the opportunity zone program understand the compliance implications for qualified opportunity funds under federal and state securities laws.
The summary discusses the opportunity zone program and when interests in qualified opportunity funds would be considered securities under federal and state securities laws. It also provides an overview of the SEC and state requirements relating to qualified opportunity funds and their securities offerings, broker-dealer registration, and considerations for advisers to a qualified opportunity fund.
“This new program provides an opportunity to strengthen investments in low-income communities and rural areas that traditionally struggled to attract the capital necessary to spur economic growth and job creation,” said Michael Pieciak, NASAA president and Vermont’s commissioner of financial regulation. “This joint summary is a good example of state and federal regulators working collaboratively to address new compliance issues raised by an innovative program and thereby promoting our dual mission of protecting investors and helping facilitate capital formation.”
Formed in 1919, NASAA is the non-profit association of state, provincial, and territorial securities regulators in the United States, Canada and Mexico. NASAA has 67 members, including the securities regulators in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is an independent agency of the United States federal government. The SEC holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws, proposing securities rules, and regulating the securities industry, the nation’s stock and options exchanges, and other activities and organizations, including the electronic securities markets in the United States.
