Understand the criteria to qualify as a Sophisticated Investor for the purposes of investing on Floww.
There are two different routes to qualifying as a Sophisticated Investor; self-certification OR certification via a certificate from a professional firm. Both routes are detailed below.
A Self-Certified Sophisticated Investor is an individual to whom at least ONE of the following criteria applies:
- I am a member of a network or syndicate of business angels and have been so for at least the last 6 months;
- I have made more than 1 investment in an unlisted company in the previous 2 years;
- I am working, or have worked in the past 2 years, in a professional capacity in the private equity sector, or in the provision of finance for small and medium enterprises;
- I am currently or have been in the previous 2 years, a director of a company with an annual turnover of at least £1M.
Additionally, you are willing to sign the below declaration that you are a self-certified sophisticated investor for the purposes of the restriction on promotion of non- readily realisable securities and understand that this means:
- I can receive promotional communications made by a person who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority which relate to investment activity in non-readily realisable securities and;
- the investments to which the promotions will relate may expose me to a significant risk of losing all of the property invested;
- I accept that the investments to which the promotions will relate may expose me to a significant risk of losing all of the money or other property invested. I am aware that it is open to me seek advice from someone who specialises in advising on non- readily realisable securities.
When investing via Floww, if you chose to categorise yourself as a Self-Certified Sophisticated Investor, you may be required to provide evidence on how you meet these requirements to our internal Compliance team as part of our standard due diligence checks.
A Certified Sophisticated Investor is an individual who has:
- A written certificate, signed within the last 36 months, by a firm confirming they have been assessed by that firm as sufficiently knowledgeable to understand the risks associated with engaging in investment activity in non-mainstream pooled investments;
AND
- Signed, within the last 12 months, a statement in the following terms:
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- I make this statement so that I can receive promotional communications which are exempt from the restriction on promotion of non-readily realisable securities. The exemption relates to certified sophisticated investors, and I declare that I qualify as such.
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- I accept that the investments to which the promotions will relate may expose me to a significant risk of losing all of the money or other property invested. I am aware that it is open to me to seek advice from an authorised person who specialises in advising on non-mainstream pooled investments.
When investing via Floww, if you select this as your categorisation, you may be required to provide a copy of your written certificate to our internal Compliance team as part of our standard due diligence checks.