Will SEC’s new rules on marketing be a boon for start-ups or a risk for investors?

The ads may start coming in the next few months through e-mail, on billboards, even via a passing reference on Facebook — companies looking to give you a chance to invest on the ground floor of a start-up that could hit it big.

The tantalizing offers may be legitimate or pie-in-the-sky schemes, and that’s the messy reality that federal regulators must address as they craft new rules that will fundamentally change how private offers are marketed to potential investors.

By Dina ElBoghdady

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/sec-writing-new-rules-that-will-make-it-easier-to-advertise-investment-opportunities/2013/01/14/babb611a-5a70-11e2-9fa9-5fbdc9530eb9_story.html