OK of private placement ads to aid startups

A decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to lift an 80-year ban on advertising of private placements should prove a boon to private companies seeking to finance their growth. The SEC lifted the ban last week as part of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups, or JOBS Act, passed in 2012.

The move will become effective in mid-September, 60 days after the ruling’s publication in the Federal Register.

Many private companies, including startups, seek private investment to raise money to finance expansion, whether that entails hiring of additional personnel, promoting research and development, building of distribution channels, or all of the…