Strategic Plan & Vision · v2 · Confidential Working Draft
New Mexico Stock Exchange
A local exchange for local capital — so the wealth created in New Mexico can be owned, traded, and compounded by New Mexicans, even as out-of-state money floods the state's deep-tech, film, and energy frontiers.
Concept · intrastate securities marketplace
Jurisdiction · State of New Mexico
Legal kernel · NM intrastate offering law
Engine · monthly vertical & heritage windows
Stage · pre-formation / thesis
The thesis in one breath
New Mexico is being discovered. Federal quantum dollars, a magnet film industry, and hyperscale data-center and power buildout are pouring in from out of state. That capital builds here — but the equity, the upside, and the long-run ownership leave. NMSE keeps a meaningful share of that value at home: a regulated, intrastate marketplace where New Mexico businesses raise patient equity and residents, pensions, and public funds invest in the economy they actually live in.
The capital landscape (indicative)
~$60B
State permanent funds
~$35B
NM public pensions (PERA + ERB)
$500M+
Annual film / TV spend
$100M+
Federal quantum / tech-hub funds
$10B+
Announced data-center / chip investment
“The possibility of local stocks and local exchanges has been, and remains, firmly embedded in U.S. law. It's a sleeping giant. New Mexico's law lets you fill out a few simple forms, send a small fee, and sell stock to unaccredited residents of the state.”
Michael Shuman · Local Stock Exchanges · E. F. Schumacher Lecture
Dollar figures are indicative orders of magnitude from public reporting through 2024–25, included to size the opportunity, not as audited values. Verify all figures and the specific statute with current sources and New Mexico securities counsel before external use.
01 · Market case
Why New Mexico, and why now
The forces drawing outside investors are exactly what make a local exchange viable for the first time: real companies, real revenue, federal tailwinds, and an unusually investor-friendly intrastate securities regime. Three frontiers are converging — and in each, the state keeps the jobs and tax base while exporting the ownership.
Three frontiers drawing out-of-state capital
Deep tech & quantum
The science is already here
Los Alamos & Sandia anchor a national R&D base
Federal quantum / tech-hub corridor funding
Intel Rio Rancho semiconductor expansion
Spinouts need patient equity, not just exits
Film & creative
A mature production economy
Major studio footprints in ABQ & Santa Fe
Competitive film tax credit; record spend years
Local crews, vendors, post houses — ownable
Creative SMBs ideal for local listing
Power & data centers
The infrastructure buildout
Hyperscale data-center investment in Los Lunas
Renewable generation & transmission growth
Capital-intensive, long-horizon — patient capital fit
Community ownership offsets extractive optics
The leak the exchange plugs
Capital arrives
Federal, VC & corporate money funds NM projects
Value is built here
Jobs, tax base, IP & revenue created in-state
Ownership leaves
Equity & upside exit to out-of-state holders
NMSE keeps it local
Residents & NM funds own the upside
Roughly three-fifths of U.S. economic activity is place-based — and almost none of New Mexicans' savings flows into it. NMSE is the missing intermediary that makes local equity issuable, sellable, tradable, ratable, and portfolio-able.
02 · Competitive & precedent intelligence
Who has tried this — and what it teaches
Local exchanges are an old idea that technology and regulation finally made cheap. The record splits into historical precedent, recent attempts, and modern analogues already operating at the edges.
Precedents & analogues
Historical regional exchanges
Proof it worked before
Pre-1930s, securities were issued, traded & regulated state by state. The two-tier regime preserved intrastate authority — it just fell dormant. The pathway never closed.
Powell Merc / Ben & Jerry's
Community equity, in practice
A Wyoming town funded a store via resident-only stock; Ben & Jerry's first raised as a Vermont-only offering. Local ownership works — and is lost the moment a firm "goes national."
Shuman / Katovich "Local Exchange"
Direct intellectual lineage
A former NASDAQ exec and Shuman sketched state-portal exchanges with local-only investors and values-based listing rules. The blueprint exists; capital & execution didn't follow.
Mission Markets & impact venues
Cautionary tale
Several mission/impact platforms launched and folded. Lesson: liquidity and deal flow — not tech or mission — are the binding constraint. Solve supply first.
Long-Term Stock Exchange
Regulatory feasibility
An SEC-approved national exchange built on long-horizon listing standards proves regulators will sanction novel market structures — with serious compliance investment.
Reg CF / Reg A+ & DPO platforms
The modern toolkit
Crowdfunding, Reg A+, direct public offerings & small-biz marketplaces already move local capital. They lack a secondary market and a state-anchored institution — NMSE's wedge.
What the record tells us to do differently
Lead with supply, not the trading floor
Every failure starved for listings — build issuance first
Curate a credible founding cohort before any venue opens
Anchor institutionally from day one
Grassroots-only platforms lacked durable capital
State endorsement & a regulated structure are the moat
03 · Strategy & roadmap
How sequencing de-risks the build
We tackle the two problems that killed every prior attempt, in order. First we prove it's legal — nothing else matters if the structure can't stand. Then we prove businesses will list, because a marketplace with nothing to trade is the most common way these efforts die. Only once real supply exists do we spend on a trading venue, and institutional capital comes last, when there's a track record to underwrite it. Each phase delivers value on its own, so momentum survives even if a later stage slows — we're never betting everything on a single grand launch.
Phase 0 · 0–9 mo
Foundation & legal
Securities-counsel opinion on intrastate path
Engage NM Securities Division
Form entity & advisory board
Seed / philanthropic capital
Phase 1 · 6–18 mo
Issuance engine
Low-cost DPO / template underwriting
Curate 5–10 founding issuers
Standard disclosure & listing rules
Resident investor registry
Phase 2 · 18–36 mo
Trading venue
Virtual, periodic-auction model
Broker-dealer / ATS partnership
Holding periods / anti-flip rules
Rating & transfer agent
Phase 3 · 36 mo+
Institutional capital
Diversified NM-focused funds
Pension & permanent-fund pilots
Sector portfolios
Scale & secondary liquidity
What's needed
Legal & regulatory clearance
A clean read on the intrastate exemption, broker-dealer / ATS rules, and a cooperative posture from state regulators. This is the gating risk.
Anchor institutions
State Investment Council, PERA/ERB, a CDFI, a credit union, and a university partner for credibility and balance-sheet.
Founding issuer cohort
5–10 credible, revenue-generating local companies willing to list — the proof that draws investors and press.
Capital & technology
Philanthropic / public seed for years 0–2, plus a compliant, build-light trading platform and a transfer-agent / rating layer.
04 · The operating rhythm
A 12-month calendar engine
Because trading is virtual and time-boxed, the year itself becomes the product. Each month spotlights one business vertical, timed to its slow season — capital lands when a small business needs it most, not when it's already flush. And each month opens a limited “Own a Piece of New Mexico” heritage drop: a small, capped stake in something iconic, sold for the intrinsic and emotional pull of belonging, not just appreciation.
Heritage drops are opt-in, community-led offerings structured with the relevant communities — especially Pueblo and Indigenous partners — as cooperative or benefit-sharing stakes, never extractive ownership of cultural or sacred assets. Verticals, months & offerings are illustrative placeholders for partner co-design.
05 · What success looks like
The MVP scorecard
Success in year one isn't a grand opening — it's a working proof: a diverse founding cohort, a full calendar executed, residents who own real local equity, and a model other states ask to copy.
8–12
Founding members (institutions + issuers)
12
Monthly windows executed
1,000+
Resident investors onboarded
≥1
Heritage drop oversubscribed
100%
Regulatory pathway confirmed
1
Replicable model packaged
A diverse founding cohort (placeholders)
Anchor · capital
[Credit Union]
Rails & member trust
Anchor · public
[Local Government]
e.g. Rio Rancho / county
Anchor · chamber
[Pueblo / Indian]
Indigenous business chamber
Anchor · chamber
[Hispano]
Hispano chamber of commerce
Anchor · chamber
[Greater ABQ]
Metro chamber
Issuer · builders
[Builder Co.]
Construction / trades
Issuer · retail
[Retailer]
Main-street retail
Issuer · technology
[Tech Co.]
Deep-tech spinout
Issuer · services
[Services Co.]
Professional / hospitality
Issuer · farms
[Farm / Food]
Heritage-drop pilot
The cohort is built to look like New Mexico itself: institutions that lend trust and capital, alongside issuers across builders, retail, technology, services, and agriculture — spanning Pueblo, Hispano, and metro communities from day one.
06 · Strategic assessment
SWOT
Strengths
First-mover in a state with permissive intrastate offering law
Genuine, fundable deal flow from three frontiers
Large in-state institutional pools seeking local mandates
Powerful, bipartisan local-ownership narrative
Small community — trust & diligence are cheaper locally
Weaknesses
No existing liquidity, track record, or returns history
National platforms capturing issuers without local benefit
Boom cyclicality — correlated local downturn risk
Leadership turnover at anchor institutions
Top risk to manage: this is a securities undertaking. Operating a marketplace, soliciting investors, or advising on allocations without proper registration or exemptions carries real legal exposure. Treat regulatory clearance as gate-zero — nothing externally facing launches before counsel and regulators sign off.
General information only — not legal, tax, or investment advice. Qualified securities counsel required before action.
07 · Mechanics, moonshot & the ask
How it works — and where it goes
Who can list
NM-headquartered & operating
Living-wage & sustainability floor
Open-book disclosure
Fraud = ban
Who can invest
NM residents (intrastate)
Per-investor caps protect small holders
Institutions: pensions, funds, CDFIs
Education at onboarding
How shares trade
Virtual, monthly windows
Periodic auctions, not HFT
Holding periods / anti-flip fees
Transfer agent + ratings
The moonshot
Done right, NMSE doesn't just plug a leak — it makes patient, local ownership more attractive than private equity for a whole class of company: fair valuations, no forced sale, a built-in customer base of owner-investors, and upside that stays in the state. The end state is a financial export of a different kind — a model so good the other 49 states wish they had it, and businesses relocate here to access it.
Traditional exit / PE path
~20% stays local
upside leaves the state
NMSE local-ownership path
~80% stays local
owned by residents & NM funds
Fair valuations No forced sell-out Owner-investors as customers Replicable nationally
What we're asking for
Conviction capital
Philanthropic / public seed for years 0–2 to cover legal, regulatory & a lean founding team.
Institutional partners
LOIs from a permanent-fund or pension sleeve, a CDFI, a credit union & a university.
Founding issuers
Intros to revenue-generating NM companies open to becoming the first listed cohort.
This is a strategic vision draft for internal discussion — general information, not legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice. It describes a securities-related concept requiring review by qualified New Mexico securities counsel and consultation with state and federal regulators before any step. Market & funding figures are indicative and must be independently verified. Primary conceptual source: Michael Shuman, “Local Stock Exchanges: The Next Wave of Community Economy Building,” E. F. Schumacher Lecture, Center for New Economics.