Overview

An accredited or sophisticated investor is an investor with a special status under financial regulation laws. The definition of an accredited investor (if any), and the consequences of being classified as such, vary between countries. Generally, accredited investors include high-net-worth individuals, banks, financial institutions, and other large corporations, who have access to complex and higher-risk investments such as venture capital, hedge funds, and angel investments.

Laws may require that some types of financial offerings may only be made to accredited investors.

Australia

s 708(8) of the Corporations Act 2001 is found in Chapter 6D (Fundraising). It defines "sophisticated investor" so as to exclude them from certain disclosure requirements.

That section provides for an accountant to issue a certificate stating that an individual meets the criteria prescribed in the Corporations Regulations 2001, namely net assets of at least $2.5 million, or a gross income for each of the last two financial years of at least $250,000.

There is a second definition of "sophisticated investor" in s 761GA of the Corporations Act 2001 in Chapter 7 (Financial services and markets). It defines sophisticated investors so that they can be treated as wholesale (rather than retail) clients.

Brazil

On December 17, 2014, CVM issued the Instructions No. 554 and No. 555, which became effective from July 1, 2015 according to Mondaq.

The definition of accredited investors under the United States SEC’s Regulation D are analogous in Brazil to the combination of two categories of investors, classified by the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) as "investidor profissional" (professional investor) and "investidor qualificado" (qualified investor) under Instruction 539, articles 9-A and 9-B.

Canada

Note that as of 2016, many provinces in Canada now allow non-accredited investors to invest in private markets – under specified limits.

New Zealand

The Securities Act 1978 was repealed on 1 December 2014, when the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 came fully into force. Under the Act, a person is a wholesale investor if they have net assets or turnover of at least $5 million in each of the two most recently completed financial years, raised from the $2 million net asset or $200,000 income test under the former Act. A person may instead certify as an eligible investor if they have enough experience to assess the offer, with the certification confirmed by a financial adviser, qualified statutory accountant or lawyer.