Venable partner Eric Smith was quoted in a September 25, 2015 article in The Deal on a recommendation that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) immediately address finders. Finders are intermediaries who provide the names or introductions of investors to small companies and receive compensation for their services. The SEC’s Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies recommended that finders be registered with the state where they operate.
"It would be great for the market if the SEC would take some action that would make the finders issue more clear," said Smith. Finders are "one of my least favorite issues with my clients because it can get pretty emotional. They will say, 'How can you advise me against using them when everybody else is?'" Commenting on the difficulty of finder issue, Smith said, "The challenge for the SEC is that with finders you are talking about smaller companies and smaller investors and that is where more fraud takes place, and the SEC is required to protect investors."