STEP 1

ARE ACCREDITED

SEC Rule 501 of Regulation D defines accredited investors as someone that meets one of the following criteria:

• A bank, savings and loan association, insurance company, registered investment company, business development company, or small business investment company or rural business investment company
• An SEC-registered broker-dealer, SEC- or state-registered investment adviser, or exempt reporting adviser
• A plan established and maintained by a state, its political subdivisions, or any agency or instrumentality of a state or its political subdivisions, for the benefit of its employees, if such plan has total assets in excess of $5 million
• An employee benefit plan (within the meaning of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act) if a bank, insurance company, or registered investment adviser makes the investment decisions, or if the plan has total assets in excess of $5 million
• A tax exempt charitable organization, corporation, limited liability corporation, or partnership with assets in excess of $5 million
• An individual with income exceeding $200,000 in each of the two most recent calendar years or joint income with a spouse or spousal equivalent exceeding $300,000 for those years and a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year or
• A trust with assets exceeding $5 million, not formed only to acquire the securities offered, and whose purchases are directed by a person who meets the legal standard of having sufficient knowledge and experience in financial and business matters to be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the prospective investment