• Amendments to the "accredited investor" definition expand the categories of persons eligible to participate in private placements under Regulation D to include (i) individuals with certain professional licenses (Series 7, 65 and 82), (ii) any entity with more than $5 million in investments, (iii) knowledgeable employees of a fund in which the employee is investing and (iv) family offices and their clients.
  • The amendments also expand the types of entities eligible for Rule 144A offerings and make conforming changes to other rules.

On August 26, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments1 to Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), to expand the types of entities and the criteria for a person to be an "accredited investor" that is eligible to participate in private placements under Regulation D. Similarly, the SEC adopted amendments to expand the types of persons who could be "qualified institutional buyers" that are permitted to acquire securities under Rule 144A under the Securities Act. Finally, the SEC conformed other references in its rules, such as "testing the waters," the accredited investor definition in Regulation A and the requirements governing the categories of investors who must receive disclosure from broker-dealers under the "penny stock" rules.

Amendments to the "Accredited Investor" Definition.

The accredited investor definition limits who can participate in private placements of securities and who can invest in private funds under U.S. securities laws.2 The list of persons who qualify as "accredited investors" currently consists of a mix of regulated entities, individuals with a specified amount of assets or income and certain entities with specified levels of assets. The amendments to the accredited investor definition will permit each of the following additional persons to be an accredited investor:

  • An individual that holds professional certification or designation or credentials in good standing from an accredited institution that the SEC has designated as sufficient to demonstrate his or her investment knowledge, which initially consists of Series 7, 65 or 82 exam,3 but may be expanded in the future to encompass other exams or certifications as sufficient by order if the designations satisfy specified criteria.4
  • Any entity not otherwise specified in the accredited investor definition and not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the securities offered that owns more than $5 million in "investments," as defined in Rule 2a51-1(b).5
  • An individual who is a "knowledgeable employee," as defined in Rule 3c-5(a)(4) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, of the private fund issuer of the securities being offered or sold.6
  • An investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the "Advisers Act") or a person exempt from registration as a private fund adviser or a venture capital adviser.
  • A "family office," as defined in Rule 202(a)(11)(G)-1 (the "Family Office Rule") under the Advisers Act not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the securities offered with more than $5 million in assets under management whose investment is directed by a person who has such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters that such family office is capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the investment.
  • A "family client," as defined in the Family Office Rule, of a family office that satisfies the above requirements and whose investments are directed by that family office.
  • A Rural Business Investment Company.7

To view the full article click  here.

Footnotes

1. The final rule release is available at https://www.sec.gov/rules/final/2020/33-10824.pdf and a press release summarizing the release is available at https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2020-191.

2. Pursuant to Rule 506(b) of Regulation D, an issuer may offer and sell securities to investors acquiring for investment purposes without general solicitation so long as it has no more than 35 purchasers who are not accredited investors and the issuer provides specified information to non-accredited investors. Pursuant to Rule 506(c) of Regulation D, an issuer may offer and sell securities to investors acquiring for investment purposes with or without general solicitation so long as all purchasers are verified to be accredited investors. Issuers relying on the exclusions from the definition of "investment company" in Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, are prohibited from publicly offering securities and generally rely on Regulation D to offer their securities.

3. The SEC order naming those exams as meeting the attributes to qualify individuals as accredited investors is available at https://www.sec.gov/rules/other/2020/33-10823.pdf . The SEC focused on the fact that those licenses are publicly disclosed and could be verified. Therefore, it may be advisable for subscription documents to request disclosure of any licenses currently held (in case the SEC later expands the list of approved licenses), the licensing number (such as a Central Registration Depository number), whether such licenses are in good standing and either requesting a link to the public website that publicly discloses the status of the license or documenting the licenses through an independent search retained in the issuer's diligence file.

4. In determining whether to designate a professional certification or designation or credential from an accredited educational institution for purposes of this new prong of the "accredited investor" definition, the SEC will consider, among others, the following factors: (i) the certification, designation or credential that arises out of an examination or series of examinations administered by a self-regulatory organization or other industry body or is issued by an accredited educational institution; (ii) the examination or series of examinations is designed to reliably and validly demonstrate an individual's comprehension and sophistication in the areas of securities and investing; (iii) persons obtaining such certification, designation or credential can reasonably be expected to have sufficient knowledge and experience in financial and business matters to evaluate the merits and risks of a prospective investment; and (iv) an indication that an individual holds the certification or designation is either made publicly available by the relevant self-regulatory organization or other industry body or is otherwise independently verifiable.

5.Given the complexity of the definition of "investments," it may be advisable for subscription documents to include a schedule of the types of investments that are within the definition.

6. Given the inherently fact-specific determination of whether someone is a "knowledgeable employee," the private fund's Chief Compliance Officer should verify that the potential investor satisfies the criteria of the rule and the no-action letters that provide further guidance, instead of accepting self-certification from the investor. The knowledgeable employee status would also apply to a spouse subscribing jointly with the knowledgeable employee.

7. A "rural business investment company" is defined in Section 384A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.