A person with a certificate from a qualified accountant certifying they have a prescribed net asset or gross income level. This gives them an exemption under the Corporations Act 2001. That means they can buy financial products without a regulated disclosure document such as a prospectus or product disclosure statement.

A person holding a certificate is a:

• ‘sophisticated investor’ for the purposes of Chapter 6D (if offered debt or shares), or
• ‘wholesale client’ for the purposes of Chapter 7 (if offered a financial product, other than insurance, superannuation or a retirement savings account product or service) and the financial product is not used in connection with a business
  
  

To be eligible for a certificate, you must have:

• a gross income of $250,000 or more per year in each of the previous two years, or
• net assets of at least $2.5 million (reg 6D.2.03 and reg 7.1.28)