Legal Question in Investment Law in California

Can I, and a group of friends/family/cohorts set up a fund to invest in small privately held companies without some sort of licensing? Not everyone will be involved in the actual decision making on whether or not to invest.


Asked on 7/20/10, 5:10 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Nope. You're talking about a highly regulated endeavor.

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Answered on 7/20/10, 8:23 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

This idea brings to mind the concept of an "investment club." Thirty or forty years ago, investment clubs were very popular and an "in" thing for friends, neighbors, relatives and members of social or religious communities to set up. At that time, if memory serves, the laws were not as restrictive as Mr. McCormick's answer would suggest. I was not a lawyer 30-40 years ago, and have never seriously probed the laws surrounding investment clubs. However, I would not assume either that (1) they are so highly regulated they can't be set up today, or, conversely, (2) that complying with today's rules would be a breeze. I suggest you research both California and Federal laws relative to investment clubs via a search engine. Among other things you may discover is that investment clubs are limited to investing in seasoned, exchange-listed securities, or that unanimous approval of each investment decision is necessary....I don't know.

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Answered on 7/20/10, 10:02 pm


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