What is an Accredited Investor?

The Accredited Investor Regime

MAS implemented legislative amendments aimed at enhancing regulatory safeguards for investors in 2018. The criteria for an investor to qualify as an Accredited Investor has been refined and with effect from 8 January 2019, the introduction of an opt-in regime will provide investors the option of electing for Accredited Investor status.

Why become an Accredited Investor?

An Accredited Investor generally has access to a wider range of financial products and services. These include restricted products like structured notes, equity linked notes and selected bonds.

Accredited Investors are assumed to be better informed, better able to access resources to protect their own interests, and therefore, would require less regulatory protection. Investors who agree to be treated as Accredited Investors therefore forgo the benefit of certain regulatory safeguards. When the bank deals with Accredited Investors, we're exempt from complying with certain regulatory requirements of the Financial Advisers Act (FAA), the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) and related regulations that are meant to provide regulatory safeguards to retail customers.

Who can be an Accredited Investor?

Any investor who meets any one of the qualifying criteria and has opted in to be treated as an Accredited Investor.

For individuals to qualify to become Accredited Investors, they have to meet at least 1 of the following 3 criteria:

1. Income in the preceding 12 months is not less than SGD300,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency)

2. Net personal assets exceeding SGD2 million (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) in value, of which the net value of the investor's primary place of residence can only contribute up to SGD1 million

3. Net Financial Assets exceeding SGD1 million (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) in value

In order for joint accounts to qualify for Accredited Investor status, they have to meet the following 2 criteria:

1. At least 1 joint account holder must qualify as an Accredited Investor and have opted in for the status

2. All other joint account holders who do not qualify for Accredited Investor status on an individual capacity must opt in for Accredited Investor status for the joint account

If any of the joint account holders has not opted in for Accredited Investor status, the joint account will be designated as a retail joint account. Consequently, none of the joint account holders will be able to transact through that joint account as Accredited Investors.

Similarly, if any of the joint account holders opts out of Accredited Investor status, the joint account will be re-designated as a retail joint account. None of the joint account holders will then be able to transact through that joint account as Accredited Investors.