Are You an Accredited Investor?

Connect Invest offers fractional Note investments in collateral-backed real estate. These Note investments fall into the broader category of alternative investments. As you likely already know, alternative investments allow investors to diversify holdings, reduce overall portfolio volatility and risk, increase returns, or create passive income streams. They can be an excellent, high-yield component of a broader portfolio. However, alternative investments can be a difficult area to break into.

Most alternative assets are best suited to sophisticated investors and advisors who understand the unique characteristics and nuances of asset classes that range from art to rare goods to hedge funds and private equity to real estate. Most of these are considered “unregistered” investments, because they are subject to less stringent requirements and regulations by the SEC; they offer fewer protections to investors than public, registered equities and funds. Most also require high levels of upfront investment, although innovative platforms such as Connect Invest are now lowering the cost of entry by allowing investors to invest in fractions of an asset.

Because Connect Invest’s fractional investments are unregistered, they are available exclusively to accredited investors; you must become an accredited investor with us to open an account and use our platform.

Below is an overview of what you need to know and do to become an accredited investor.

Accredited investor status

lays out the specific requirements you must meet for accredited investor status. To become accredited, you must meet one or both of the following requirements on an ongoing basis (i.e., not simply when you open an account):

•  Individuals
  • Individual income in excess of $200,000 per year independently
  • Individual or joint net worth exceeding $1 million independently, excluding the value of your primary residence

•  Joint
  • Joint income in excess of $300,000 per year
  • Joint net worth exceeding $1 million, excluding the value of your primary residence

Becoming accredited

Although the criteria for becoming an accredited investor are defined by regulation, there is no regulatory body that reviews investor credentials, and there is no standard document that will grant you accredited investor status. Instead, companies that issue unregistered securities are required to determine your status by conducting diligence prior to opening an investment account. The Connect Invest digital platform will walk you through this process step by step to help make this determination and confirm that you meet all relevant requirements.