Les règles en application dans le crowdfunding sont-elles en adéquation avec les nouvelles normes MIFID II concernant la protection des investisseurs ?

Abstract

Crowdfunding is an innovative way of financing projects based on small investor donations. Crowdfunding started to boom around 2008 thanks to the emergence of new technologies such as internet 2.0, more altruistic way of thinking and stricter conditions for raising funds through regular capital markets. In crowdfunding the risk is still incurred by the investor. However, no specific legislation in Belgium ensures that the investor is well-informed of this risk. At this moment, the crowdfunding platforms only need to adhere to the « loi du 16 juin 2006 relative aux offres publiques d'instruments de placement et aux admissions d'instruments de placement à la négociation sur des marchés réglementés », usually called « Loi Prospectus ».

In 2014, the European Commission issued a new financial directive, MIFID II. This directive aimed at increasing investor protection and regulation. I found that the Belgian crowdfunding platforms are not yet adhering to this directive due to limited scope of this legislation. Therefore, these platforms are free to establish their own rules. This raises the question how or when the Belgian and European regulators can take action to control this new capital market.

The goal of this paper is to provide recommendations to Belgian and European regulators on how to regulate crowdfunding platforms. They are based on MIFID II, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act of 05 April 2012 from United States of America and other European countries such as United Kingdom, France and Italy. I recommend new rules such as the investor information regarding risks, the FSMA registration or the study of application for financing. Some recommendations also aim the nature of the documents provided by the issuers and the maximum investment limit of 1.000€ per person set by the « loi du 25 avril 2014 ».