Who Can Invest?
Everyone is welcome to learn. Investing has separate rules.
“Accredited investor” is a legal category used for certain private offerings. It is not a course you must finish to read this website.
Eligibility and suitability are different questions.
Am I eligible?
Do the rules for a particular offering allow me to participate? Some offerings are limited to accredited investors, and the issuer must follow the applicable verification rules.
Does it fit me?
Can I accept the losses, lack of access to money, concentration, and timeline? Eligibility does not answer those questions. An eligible person can sensibly decline.
Common individual qualification pathways
- Income: more than $200,000 individually, or $300,000 with a spouse or spousal equivalent, in each of the prior two years, with a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year.
- Net worth: more than $1 million individually or jointly with a spouse or spousal equivalent, excluding the primary residence. Special rules apply to home-related debt.
- Specified credentials or roles: certain professional licenses, such as Series 7, 65, or 82 in good standing, and other recognized categories may qualify.
These are common pathways, not a complete eligibility determination. Entities, trusts, and other structures have separate criteria.
Income is a flow. Net worth is a snapshot.
Income
For example, income measured over a year. Business sales revenue is not automatically your personal qualifying income.
Net worth
What you own minus what you owe at a point in time. Accreditation applies its own rules, including excluding the primary home and special treatment of related debt.
What happens for a specific offering?
The issuer identifies the applicable requirements and follows the necessary process. Under Rule 506(c), it must take reasonable steps to verify accredited status. An unchecked or checked website box is not itself a substitute for that process.
Accredited status does not mean the SEC has approved the investment, that the operator is qualified, or that your principal is safe. Do not submit tax returns, account balances, or other sensitive financial documents just to access lessons here.
Fortified Capital Development Fund LLC is structured as a Rule 506(c) offering for verified accredited investors. Ask for current offering documents and availability; eligibility alone does not establish suitability.
A useful next step
Keep learning
You can understand the basics and ask questions whether or not you qualify for a particular offering.