Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Washington State Proposes Amending "Accredited Investor" Definition in Its Regulation D Exemption

The definition of an accredited investor in Washington State's Regulation D exemption includes, among the listed entities and persons, any natural person whose individual net worth, or joint net worth with that person's spouse, at the time of the purchase exceeds $1 million, excluding the value of the primary residence of such natural person. The Washington Department of Financial Institutions, by expedited rule making, proposed to replace "excluding the value of the primary residence of such natural person" with a more fleshed-out exception to the net worth calculation that factors in the amount of indebtedness on the primary residence up to its estimated fair market value and sets forth the instances when indebtedness is and is not included as a liability in the net worth calculation.

Written comments. Please send written comments about the proposed amendment to Michelle Webster, Staff Attorney, at the Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division, P.O. Box 9033, Olympia, Washington 98507-9033.