U.S. residents/citizens
To access other pages on this website, you will need to confirm you are an ‘Accredited Investor’ under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended and a ‘Qualified Purchaser’ under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
Non-U.S. residents/citizens
To access the other pages on this website, you will need to confirm you are not a ‘U.S. Person’ under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Return to the MIGRF home page if you wish to accept the conditions of entry.
Definitions
‘U.S. person’:
(i) Any natural person resident in the United States;
(ii) Any partnership or corporation organized or incorporated under the laws of the United States;
(iii) Any estate of which any executor or administrator is a U.S. person;
(iv) Any trust of which any trustee is a U.S. person;
(v) Any agency or branch of a foreign entity located in the United States;
(vi) Any non-discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held by a dealer or other fiduciary for the benefit or account of a U.S. person;
(vii) Any discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held by a dealer or other fiduciary organized, incorporated, or (if an individual) resident in the United States; and
(viii) Any partnership or corporation if:
(A) Organized or incorporated under the laws of any foreign jurisdiction; and
(B) Formed by a U.S. person principally for the purpose of investing in securities not registered under the Act, unless it is organized or incorporated, and owned, by accredited investors (as defined in §230.501(a)) who are not natural persons, estates or trusts.
(2) The following are not “U.S. persons”:
(i) Any discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held for the benefit or account of a non-U.S. person by a dealer or other professional fiduciary organized, incorporated, or (if an individual) resident in the United States;
(ii) Any estate of which any professional fiduciary acting as executor or administrator is a U.S. person if:
(A) An executor or administrator of the estate who is not a U.S. person has sole or shared investment discretion with respect to the assets of the estate; and
(B) The estate is governed by foreign law;
(iii) Any trust of which any professional fiduciary acting as trustee is a U.S. person, if a trustee who is not a U.S. person has sole or shared investment discretion with respect to the trust assets, and no beneficiary of the trust (and no settlor if the trust is revocable) is a U.S. person;
(iv) An employee benefit plan established and administered in accordance with the law of a country other than the United States and customary practices and documentation of such country;
(v) Any agency or branch of a U.S. person located outside the United States if:
(A) The agency or branch operates for valid business reasons; and
(B) The agency or branch is engaged in the business of insurance or banking and is subject to substantive insurance or banking regulation, respectively, in the jurisdiction where located; and
(vi) The International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the United Nations, and their agencies, affiliates and pension plans, and any other similar international organizations, their agencies, affiliates and pension plans.
‘Qualified purchaser’:
(i) any natural person (including any person who holds a joint, community property, or other similar shared ownership interest in an issuer that is excepted under section 3(c)(7) with that person’s qualified purchaser spouse) who owns not less than $5,000,000 in investments, as defined by the Commission;
(ii) any company that owns not less than $5,000,000 in investments and that is owned directly or indirectly by or for 2 or more natural persons who are related as siblings or spouse (including former spouses), or direct lineal descendants by birth or adoption, spouses of such persons, the estates of such persons, or foundations, charitable organizations, or trusts established by or for the benefit of such persons;
(iii) any trust that is not covered by clause (ii) and that was not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the securities offered, as to which the trustee or other person authorized to make decisions with respect to the trust, and each settlor or other person who has contributed assets to the trust, is a person described in clause (i), (ii), or (iv); or
(iv) any person, acting for its own account or the accounts of other qualified purchasers, who in the aggregate owns and invests on a discretionary basis, not less than $25,000,000 in investments.
‘Accredited Investor’:
- Securities, including stocks, bonds and notes, other than securities of an issuer that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the prospective qualified purchaser (e.g., an interest in a family-owned or closely-held business). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Investments includes securities held in (i) any company that files reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or has a class of securities that are listed on a ‘designated offshore securities market,’ (ii) any registered or unregistered investment company or commodity pool and (iii) any private company with shareholders’ equity of not less than $50 million.
- Real estate held for investment purposes. Real estate is not held for investment purposes if it is used by the prospective qualified purchaser or a related person for personal purposes or as a place of business, or in connection with the conduct of the trade or business of the prospective qualified purchaser or a related person; provided that real estate owned by a prospective qualified purchaser who is engaged primarily in the business of investing, trading or developing real estate in connection with such business may be deemed to be held for investment purposes. Residential real estate shall not be deemed to be used for personal purposes if deductions with respect to such real estate are not disallowed by section 280A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
- Commodity interests, namely commodity futures contracts, options or commodity futures and options on physical commodities traded on a contract market or board of trade, held for investment purposes. A commodity interest or physical commodity owned, or a financial contract entered into, by a prospective qualified purchaser who is engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in commodity interests, physical commodities or financial contracts in connection with such business may be deemed to be held for investment purposes.
- Physical commodities (e.g., gold and silver), with respect to which futures contracts are traded on a contract market or board of trade, held for investment purposes (see C above).
- Financial contracts (e.g., swaps and similar individually negotiated financial transactions), other than securities, held for investment purposes (see C above).
- In respect of a prospective qualified purchaser which is an excepted investment company or a commodity pool, any amounts payable to such prospective qualified purchaser pursuant to a firm agreement or similar binding commitment pursuant to which a person has agreed to acquire an interest in, or make capital contributions to, the prospective qualified purchaser upon demand.
- Cash and cash equivalents (e.g., foreign currencies, bank deposits, certificates of deposit, bankers acceptances and the net cash surrender value of an insurance policy) held for investment purposes. Neither cash used by an individual to meet everyday expenses nor working capital used by a business is considered cash held for investment purposes.