Every Small-Cap Makes at Least 4 of These 10 Financing Mistakes

By Adam J. Epstein  |  Growth Capital Investor  |  March 1, 2016 Though you’d never know it from reading The Wall Street Journal or watching CNBC, the industry of providing growth capital to small-cap companies (i.e., publicly-traded companies with market values below $2 billion) is larger in many years than the IPO market. Forgetting for […]

Taking Risk Management Cues From Small-Cap Companies

After the Enron-era scandals and the financial crisis, complex legislative acts such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank were implemented to effect how large, public companies manage risk. In hindsight, it might have been more instructive for large-cap boards to study how smaller public companies manage risk. The majority of public companies in the United States are […]

Gordon Gekko and Governing Small-Caps

Few who have seen it can forget the iconic scene from the movie Wall Street when Michael Douglas’s character Gordon Gekko stands up, microphone in hand, at Teldar Paper’s shareholder meeting and says: “The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works.” Cinematic […]

Small-Cap Governance’s ‘Aha!’ Moment?

Few who have seen it can forget the iconic scene in the 1987 movie Wall Street when Michael Douglas’ character Gordon Gekko stands up, microphone in hand, at Teldar Paper’s shareholder meeting and says: “The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works.” […]

The Time is Now for Small‐Cap FCPA Compliance

Nasdaq Amplify, Fall/Winter 2015 This content is only available to Nasdaq issuers within the Nasdaq.net ecosystem. Complying with one‐size‐fits‐all laws and regulations can be onerous.  A good example is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  Third Creek Advisors Founder Adam Epstein discusses why small-cap companies should consider a renewed focus on cost-effective FCPA compliance. Nasdaq […]

Hire In-House Counsel ASAP: Memo to Small-Cap CEOs

After the 2008 financial crisis, micro- and small-cap companies, to reduce costs, broadly recast in-house counsel as a luxury, and despite the resiliency of the financial markets, many small, public companies never re-hired legal staff. Savvy institutional investors have taken note and cautiously approach small public companies without in-house counsel because, even under ideal circumstances, they […]

Corporate Boards Should Stop Overlooking U.S. Veterans

I’ve never served our country in the military, but occasionally I have the honor of advising United States veterans who are looking for board seats. CEOs and board members constantly ask me whether I could recommend a value-added director for their boards, yet the number of immensely qualified veterans unsuccessfully looking to serve on boards […]

Internal Audit and SOX on a Budget

It’s been more than 10 years since the New York Stock Exchange began requiring all listed companies to maintain an internal audit function. In 2013, Nasdaq proposed a similar rule, but withdrew it several months later. A review of some of the public comments submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding Nasdaq’s proposal […]

An Unvarnished Take on Shareholder Activism

It’s impossible to read a newspaper, magazine or blog, or watch the news without hearing about shareholder activism.  It’s an industry unto itself with activist funds, attorneys who represent activists, activist defense lawyers, activist-focused investment bankers, activist conferences, activist newsletters, activist databases, and, of course, there are Messrs. Bebchuk and Lipton. As a former institutional […]

Inside the New American College of Governance Counsel

Attorneys in the United States and Canada whose work is focused on corporate governance matters have created the American College of Governance Counsel (ACGC), an association whose aim is to promote the highest professional standards in the field of governance. Its founding president is Frank M. Placenti, a partner at Squire Patton Boggs who leads […]