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24 Okla. L. Rev. 135 (1971)
An Attempt to Return Investment Contracts to the Mainstream of Securities Regulation

handle is hein.journals/oklrv24 and id is 145 raw text is: AN ATTEMPT TO RETURN INVESTMENT CONTRACTS TO THE MAINSTREAM OF SECURITIES REGULATION JOSEPH C. LONG* INTRODUCTION As we all know this country has enjoyed an unprecedented period of economic growth and prosperity since the end of World War II. As a result, the blue collar as well as the lower and middle income white collar worker has been able to divert a larger portion of his earnings away from providing the necessities and into savings. As savings have grown, these groups have sought wider avenues of investment. Thus in the late Sixties we witnessed a wider diversification of corporate ownership and greater specu- lation by the small investor than in any other time in our history including the period immediately prior to the Stock Market Crash of 1929.1 In addition to the great proliferation of the more traditional forms of investment, such as corporate stocks and bonds, the late Sixties wit- nessed the development by promoters of several new ways of attracting investment capital. These new forms included the franchise, the founder- membership operation, and the condominium or land sale coupled with a provision for rental by the promoter when the property is not in use by the owner. These methods of raising investment capital have become in- creasingly popular with the marginal or shady promoter because it allows him to raise the necessary capital to begin a business operation with little * A.B., 1961, and J.D., 1963, University of Missouri, Columbia. Visiting Associate Pro- fessor of Law, University of Oklahoma. Professor Long has also served as Associate General Counsel and Legal Consultant to the Oklahoma Securities Commission. The Commission as a matter of policy disclaims responsi- bility for any private publication by any of its members or staff. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Oklahoma Securities Commission or the Administrator or staff of the Oklahoma Department of Securities.-Ed. 1 The 1971 WORLD AL mANAC 49 shows that 30,850,000 Americans owned stock in 1970 compared to 8,630,000 in 1956. Figures for stock ownership before that date are not readily available. However some indication of the number of stock holders can be obtained from the comparison of the number of transactions on the New York Stock Exchange. The 1971 WoRLnD ALAIAC 89 shows 1,124,800,410 transactions for 1929, 649,602,291 for 1955 and 2,850,784,841 for 1969. The 1955-1956 figures show roughly a four to one ratio to the 1969-1970 figures both in ownership and in volume on the New York Exchange. Using a similar test for the 1929 figures, the 1969 volume was well over twice the 1929 figure, and therefore we could estimate the stock ownership in 1929 to be something less than 15 million.

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