David Weild Speaks to JLN About the JOBS Act and What it Accomplished and the Challenges We Still Face

David Weild, chairman of Weild & Co., Inc., played a significant role in helping create the environment for and passing of the JOBS Act, which transformed the way companies can raise money in U.S. markets.

John Lothian News interviewed Weild for a podcast about the impact of the JOBS Act and what it accomplished, what challenges it left unaddressed and what we need to do to meet those challenges.

Wield speaks passionately about the impact of the JOBS Act, noting that it played a role in the development of Moderna's COVID vaccine, which helped save 2 million lives during the pandemic. The JOBS Act helped triple the number of life science IPOs, Weild said. 

Weild said the JOBS Act allowed poor people to solicit money from people who did not have much money, something that was restricted before the legislation was passed. 

Weild, who is a former Nasdaq vice chairman, and some former associates wrote some whitepapers that outlined problems in our markets, namely the lack of small company IPOs and the depletion of the number of operating companies listed on the U.S. stock exchanges. The number of companies had fallen from 9000 to 5000, and no one knew this, Weild said, until he and his associates pointed it out. 

This problem spurred a bipartisan response in Congress to pass the JOBS Act, Weild said. Another effort to create a new type of stock exchange was sidetracked when the government shut down over the fight over "the wall" during the Trump administration. Weild is hopeful this can still be accomplished.

He spoke about the importance of the JOBS Act to the U.S. economy in creating jobs, noting that most jobs are created by small companies. He explained the difference between big companies and small companies, and how there is a need for different stock markets to meet each of their needs. 

Weild also spoke about the importance of manufacturing in the U.S. and its role in supporting national defense and how this all plays into the JOBS Act and efforts like it to make small company equity raising more efficient.