Contingency Offerings in Private Placements:
A Practical Guide for Sponsors, Issuers and Selling Group Members
The market often treats contingencies as benign drafting ornaments, when they are actually operational tripwires. TL;DR – Trust us, it’s a great read, but if you don’t have time right now, here is a quick summary. Contingency offerings in Reg D private placements sound simple: raise the minimum, break escrow and close. In private placements, […]
The Role of the MBD: Bringing Investors Closer to the Investment
The Managing Broker-Dealer as the Regulated Conduit In today’s regulatory environment, there is a growing tension between how investments are actually evaluated and how information is permitted to be shared. From the perspective of a Managing Broker-Dealer (MBD), that tension shows up in a very specific place: the conversation among investors, sponsors and the registered […]
Comment on File No. SR-FINRA-2026-004 – Financial Projections and Targeted Returns
>> Learn more and view other comments on SEC.gov Dear Secretary: I am the founder and owner of Tobin & Company Securities LLC, a FINRA-registered broker-dealer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. I have worked in investment banking for more than forty years, advising on mergers and acquisitions, equity offerings, debt financings, and private placements through […]
Twenty-Five Years of TOBIN
In February of 2001, I picked up my first business cards from the printer. They were white cards with my brand-new firm’s name – “Tobin Advisors” – and a yellow sunburst for a logo. I stepped into a world that didn’t expect me, or frankly, didn’t especially want me. In the photograph taken among the […]
Selling a Family Business Is More than Just a Transaction
Most family business owners who come to Tobin & Company have essentially already made the decision to sell. They are not tentative about it. They are ready. They have gained enough from their experiences of managing people, carrying operational risk, navigating financial risk, being the person everyone turns to for every decision. They want liquidity, […]
Comment on FINRA Regulatory Notice 26-02: Rule Revisions to Help Member Firms Protect Senior Investors From Financial Exploitation and All Investors From Fraud
>> Learn more and view other comments on FINRA.org Dear Ms. Mitchell, I submit this comment as an individual industry professional. I am a FINRA-licensed principal and the owner of the broker-dealer in the letterhead. But I am not writing on behalf of my firm. I am writing as a person who, despite decades in […]
Accredited Investors: Who Qualifies & Why It Matters
In my previous musings about private placement fundraising and promoting your private capital offering to a broader audience, we explained the requirement of accepting only accredited investors if you choose the Rule 506(c) option for your fundraising. One reason 506 (c) offerings are limited to accredited investors is to ensure that all participating investors are […]
Outsourcing Your Securities Compliance to a Broker-Dealer: Navigating the Reg D Securities Offering Gauntlet
The Managing Broker-Dealer’s primary role for a Reg D offering is to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and manage the distribution and sale of securities and related money flows. The MBD’s duties span from regulatory oversight and investor suitability checks to marketing support, capital raising and exceptional record-keeping. By providing these services and safeguards, the […]
Hello from Charlotte:
Supporting Registered Representatives Nationwide
Hello from ACG Deal Crawl in Charlotte! We’re writing from the heart of Charlotte, North Carolina, where the city’s skyline glows with the energy of dealmakers, bankers, principals and investors attending this year’s ACG Deal Crawl. The two-day conference has once again gathered middle-market professionals from across the country to connect, collaborate, and explore what’s […]
How to Value a Company: A TOBIN Perspective
Introduction: The Art and Discipline of Valuation Valuing a company is both a technical exercise and a profound act of discernment. I like to say that the practice is both an art and a science. It requires analytical skills, market fluency, and a disciplined understanding of what drives worth in a dynamic environment. At TOBIN, […]