Читать книгу How To Become A Business Angel - Richard Hargreaves - Страница 88

To self-certify as HNW you have to earn at least £100,000 per year or have net assets (excluding your property) of at least £250,000.

To self-certify as a sophisticated investor you must:

 Have been a member of a business angels network for at least six months; or

 Have made at least one investment in an unlisted security in the previous two years; or

 Have worked in a professional capacity in the provision of finance to small or medium-sized businesses in the last two years, or in the provision of private equity; or

 Be or have been within the last two years a director of a company with a turnover of at least £1m.

These particular tests are close to nonsense – for example how does being a director of a small company imply sophistication as an investor? – but these are the tests nonetheless. If you can’t honestly self-certify as a HNW individual or sophisticated investor I doubt that you should seriously consider angel investments.

The self-certification has to be in writing and you can easily find examples of these certificates by putting “high net worth self certification” into a Google search. When accepted as a HNW or sophisticated investor, the protections available for investors from the promotion of securities by a person authorised under the Financial Services Act are removed, so you will have limited comeback against the deal promoter if they are found to be in breach.

The other thing you will have to do when becoming a client of a network or syndicate manager is to produce the standard anti-money laundering information, such as a certified copy of your passport and a recent utility bill.