Schorsch's RCS Capital moves into crowdfunding

Welcome to “We R Crowdfunding,” the newest alternative investment offering from RCS Capital Corp. RCS Capital, the publicly traded holding company controlled by Nicholas Schorsch and known by its ticker symbol RCAP, announced Monday that it has acquired the assets of Trupoly, a white-label investor relationship management portal, and will integrate those assets into a crowdfunding investment platform to be called “We R Crowdfunding.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed. RCAP plans to launch We R Crowdfunding in September. The firm also has hired Ryan Smith, Trupoly founder and president, along with other Trupoly executives. “It's a very interesting fit for us long term. If you look at other existing platforms today, they all have the technology without the product side or the ability to answer questions,” said RCS Capital President Mike Weil, who will oversee the launch. (Don't miss: RCS Capital closes J.P. Turner, Summit Financial deals) The Trupoly acquisition and crowdfunding launch comes as RCAP, which became a publicly traded company last year as the firm made several brokerage acquisitions, continues its expansion into financial services. The firm of 9,200 advisers will eventually become the second-largest independent broker network. RCAP also provides intelligence and due diligence on alternative investment products. The planning expertise of the advisers at RCAP means that We R Crowdfunding will come to market with a fully developed financial services platform, Mr. Weil said. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which became law in 2012, loosened the restrictions on capital raising for small businesses and includes a provision that allows for crowdfunding, where emerging companies will be allowed to publicly seek investments.