Financial Contracting in Crowdinvesting: Lessons from the German Market

Abstract

The present Article aims to shed light on the question whether crowdinvesting regulation should favor a specific legal form or contract type for crowdinvesting. To this end, it analyzes the conditions which legal forms and contract types must fulfill to be used in crowdinvesting. As crowdinvesting in Germany benefits from a high degree of contractual freedom, the Article gives an overview not only of the types but also of the contents of crowdinvesting contracts that are in use in Germany and traces how they have evolved. Based on a sample of 81% of all crowd financing in the German market, it evaluates 255 crowdinvesting campaigns held on 18 different platforms in the period from August 1, 2011 to December 31, 2015.