Sophisticated Investor
Generally people buying securities and other financial products must, under the Corporations Act 2001, be given a regulated disclosure document such as a prospectus or product disclosure statement. However, the Act has some exemptions from these requirements.
Sophisticated Investor Certificates issued by a qualified accountant
One of those exemptions is the offering of financial products to a person (either a natural person or a legal person) who is the subject of a current certificate from a qualified accountant certifying they have a prescribed net asset or gross income level.
A person holding such a certificate is a:
- ‘sophisticated investor’ for the purposes of Chapter 6D (if they are offered debt or shares) or
- ‘wholesale client’ for the purposes of Chapter 7 (if they are offered a financial product, other than insurance, superannuation or a retirement savings account product or service) and the financial product is not used in connection with a business.
Gross income or net asset level
The Corporations Regulations prescribe the asset and income criteria which must be met before you can issue a certificate. A person is only eligible to be the subject of a certificate if they have:
- a gross income of $250,000 or more per annum in each of the previous two years or
- net assets of at least $2.5 million (reg 6D.2.03 and reg 7.1.28).
The rationale is that people meeting one of these criteria are more likely to be able to evaluate offers of securities and some financial products (such as interests in managed investment schemes) without needing the protections of a regulated disclosure document.
Kingsman can help you with your Accountant’s Certificate. Please Contact us for more details.
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