Sharesies provides two pathways for you to register yourself as a wholesale investor under Schedule 1 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA).
You can:
certify yourself as a wholesale investor
provide us with a copy of your eligible investor certification.
Each has different requirements as outlined below.
It’s an offence under the FMCA to give a certificate knowing it is false or misleading in a material particular (fines can be up to $50,000).
Learn more about the difference between retail and wholesale investors.
Wholesale investor certification
To certify with Sharesies as a wholesale investor you need to:
meet one of the following criteria under Schedule 1 of the FMCA
provide us with the grounds on which you claim to meet the category.
Criterion | Definition (follow link for more info) |
Either you:
Crypto, residential and commercial property, and KiwiSaver holdings are some of the exclusions for the purposes of meeting this criteria. | |
For each of the last two completed financial years, either:
| |
You may qualify if you are a financial services business whose main activity is investing, trading, advising on, or managing investments. This also includes registered banks, non-bank deposit takers, licensed insurers, licensed investment managers, derivatives issuers, and financial advisers. | |
You may qualify if you are a New Zealand government organisation, including a public service agency, Crown entity, local authority, State-owned enterprise, or the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. |
Eligible investor certification
If you don’t meet the ‘wholesale investor’ categories listed above, you may qualify as an eligible investor if you have enough investment experience to understand and assess investment opportunities and their risks.
Eligible investors are also ‘wholesale investors’ under the FMCA.
Sharesies will provide you with the ability to register as an eligible investor by uploading your eligible investor certification.
This certification must:
confirm in writing that you have the relevant investment experience and understand the consequences of being treated as an eligible investor;
explain the experience that supports your certification;
relate to the specific investment or service you are applying for; and
be less than 2 years old.
Your uploaded certificate must be confirmed in writing by a financial adviser, qualified statutory accountant, or lawyer. This written confirmation must also be provided to Sharesies as part of your eligible investor certification.
The purpose of the confirmation is to have a professional:
Review the reasons for your certification.
Be satisfied that you have been adequately advised about the consequences of making the certification.
Have no reason to believe the certification is incorrect.
Have no reason to believe that further information or investigation is needed to confirm the certification.
A template document can be found here:
If you have any questions on the registration process, let us know at wholesale-registration@sharesies.co.nz.