Top Equity Crowdfunding Websites
Crowdfund investing is naturally risky, and some platforms may only be open to accredited investors.
Investing small amounts of money can minimize your portfolio risk, while simultaneously providing an opportunity for potentially higher returns. .
This list shares some of the best equity crowdfunding sites for investors.
What Qualifies As An Accredited Investor
In the U.S., an accredited investor is anyone who meets one of the below criteria:
- Individuals who have an income greater than $200,000 in each of the past two years or whose joint income with a spouse is greater than $300,000 for those years, and a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year
- Individuals who have an individual net worth, or joint net worth with the persons spouse, that exceeds $1 million at the time of the investment
- Individuals who hold certain certificates, designations, or credentials, such as Series 7, Series 65, and Series 82 licenses
- Individuals who are “knowledgeable employees” of a private fund
Other Startup Investing Options For Non
- SeedInvest Invest as little as $500 in highly vetted startups on SeedInvest.com.
- Seedrs European investors can participate in equity crowdfunding campaigns starting at just £10.
- StartEngine Support innovative startups on this equity crowdfunding campaign with fixed upside.
- Crowdcube Invest in early stage British startups for as little as £10.
For Accredited Investors
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What Is A Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platform
Crowdfunding is a strategy whereby certain businesses use the internet and other social media platforms to attract investors. Real estate crowdfunding apps offer that same opportunity to investors who want to invest in commercial real estate or other real estate assets.
The crowdfunding platform pools each investors’ money into whatever real estate investments it offers. For instance, the app might be pooling investors’ money into REITs and or other properties.
Foreign Stock And Commodity Etfs
Typical returns: 10% to 20%
Exchange-traded funds are quickly increasing in popularity as the stock market opens up to more people.
An ETF is a fund you can trade on the stock exchange that consists of multiple different securities. Often they contain ones that only accredited investors can buy for example, foreign stocks or commodities .
ETFs provide a diversified and low-cost option for long-term investment. If youre prepared to accept higher risk and greater returns, you could choose an ETF focused on a developing region that could experience fast growth, like India or Latin America.
However, although foreign stock and commodity ETFs tend to yield positive returns on average, they can be volatile in the short run. To keep risk low, opt for greater diversification and away from ETFs that center on one region of the world or the market.
Various brokerage platforms let you invest in ETFs, although some have a better offering than others. Interactive Brokers is a great choice for foreign stocks and commodities, and another option is Charles Schwab.
Pros
- Can be traded easily on the stock exchange
Cons:
- Can be volatile depending on which you pick
- May experience losses in some years
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Other Business Lending Options
- Mainvest Help kickstart small local businesses, and get paid back quarterly from their future revenues. You can pick and choose which companies to support, with minimums as low as $100.
- Lending Crowd Earn a target rate of 6-8% supporting British businesses on LendingCrowd, where the minimum bid is £20 per loan.
For Accredited Investors
Why Trust Our Recommendations
Our mission at Personal Finance Insider is to help smart people make the best decisions with their money. We know that “best” is often subjective, so we highlight the clear benefits of a financial product along with any limitations.
We spent hours comparing and contrasting the features and fine print of real estate investing apps so you don’t have to.
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The Securities And Exchange Board Of India In August Introduced The Concept Of Accredited Investor In Investment Advisers And Portfolio Managers Rules
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Become A Real Estate Tycoon On Crowdstreet
Minimum investment: $10,000
Through CrowdStreet, you can invest in real estate through crowdfunding so you can own a piece of valuable property without the upfront investment of hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.
CrowdStreet gives you options for investing, so you can build your portfolio exactly the way you want it. You can:
- Invest directly in individual properties.
- Invest in diversified funds made up of REITs, debt and equity.
- Use a professionally managed portfolio.
You get quarterly payouts from properties youre invested in, plus a portion of the increased value when a property sells.
CrowdStreet minimizes fees, too. Youll pay no transaction fees, sales commissions, or additional fees, just an annual fee on funds between 0.50% and 2.5% and variable fees for direct investments.
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Yieldstreet Review 202: Pros Cons And How It Compares
Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list ofour partnersandhere’s how we make money.
The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks or securities.
Accredited Investors In Other Countries
Accredited investor designations also exist in other countries and have similar requirements. The requirements to be an accredited investor in certain countries are similar to those of the U.S., such as Canada, Australia, and Singapore, which have similar income and net worth requirements, while other countries have differing requirements.
In the EU and Norway, for example, there are three tests to determine if an individual is an accredited investor. The first is a qualitative test, an evaluation of the individual’s expertise, knowledge, and experience to determine that they are capable of making their own investment decisions. The second is a quantitative test where the individual has to meet two of the following criteria:
Lastly, the client has to state in written form that they want to be treated as a professional client and the firm they want to do business with must give notice of the protections they could lose.
Other countries, such as India and Switzerland, don’t have explicitly stated requirements but instruct that one must meet with a local council beforehand to determine if they are an accredited investor.
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Other Real Estate Options For Non
- HomeUnionprovides turnkey rental property search and acquisition services in several markets.
- Doorvest will help you buy and manage out-of-state rental property. The fees are higher here, but they guarantee the rent gets paid.
- YieldStreet A $1000 minimum can get you into YieldStreets Prism fund that includes not just real estate, but also art, financial contracts, and more.
Real Estate Options For Accredited Investors
Nerdwallet’s Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platforms Of December 2021
- Fundrise: Best for Nonaccredited investors
- CrowdStreet: Best for Accredited investors
- DiversyFund: Best for Nonaccredited investors
- EquityMultiple: Best for Accredited investors
- Yieldstreet: Best for Accredited investors
- RealtyMogul: Best for Nonaccredited investors
- Modiv: Best for Nonaccredited investors
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How Does The Securities And Exchange Commission Define An Accredited Investor
While the accredited investor definition recently changedfrom one which usually meant high-net-worth/high-income individuals to now one which focuses on investor experience and knowledgeit typically skews more towards investors with financial resources and familiarity.
That said, the new amendments from the Securities and Exchange Commission allow investors to qualify as accredited investors based on defined measures of professional knowledge, experience or certifications in place of the existing tests for income or net worth.
These tests for financial resources include having an aggregate net worth of over $1,000,000 and earning over $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with that persons spouse over $300,000 in each of those years with a reasonable expectation of reaching the same income level in the current year.
Knowledgeable employees who work for certain private funds can also participate as accredited investors.
This article will explore how your net worth, income, employment, certification or status as a private business development company or organization with assets exceeding certain thresholds may become a factor when considering what types of investments you can buy.
How To Invest With Personal Capital
Unlike most of the picks on this list, Personal Capital doesnt focus its investments on a single sector or handful of sectors. Instead, your portfolio includes ETFs and stocks from a mix of industries, selected to increase your chances of high returns.
They boast a Smart Weighing asset allocation technique to arrive at the ideal risk-reward balance, including rebalancing portfolios as needed.
If you opt for asocially responsible investing portfolio with Personal Capital, youll get similar expert diversification. Personal Capital has high standards for their social-responsibility asset picks based on the companys ethical performance in environmental, social, and governance-related areas.
Bonds and private equity investments are available for the $5M+ investment crowd.
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How Can You Invest In Startups
Getting in on the ground floor of a new company may sound exciting. Who can forget the rumors of secretaries at Microsoft who ended up as millionaires? Unfortunately, outside of employee stock options, most people cannot invest in pre-IPO startups.
Accredited investors, however, have several options to invest in startups. Most commonly, accredited investors accomplish this via a venture capital firm or by using an online marketplace to source private placement offerings.
With venture capital firms, accredited investors become an investor in a VC fund, and then the firm invests money from the fund in a range of startups. There is always limited liquidity in a VC fund, meaning you probably wont be able to get your money back whenever you wish. Accredited investors should always be clear about a VC funds investment horizon and be mindful of the risks involved.
Online marketplaces such as Yieldstreet, Peerstreet and Cadence connect accredited investors with investment opportunities. Liquidity varies across these platforms, and due diligence is a must before choosing any investments.
Even if youre not an accredited investor, relatively new crowdfunding platforms can enable you invest in start-ups. StartEngine, WeFunder and NextSeed welcome investors of any income level to support startup businesses as equity investors. Just be aware that these investments are far riskier and much less liquid than shares of public companies.
Working In Farmtogether For The First
FarmTogether is the ideal platform for newly minted accredited investors. Our platform makes it easy to learn how farmland investing works, what advantages it can have over other long-term alternative investments, and what kind of returns you might be able to expect. Our team and partners are cross-industry professionals with over 100 years of experience across farmland investing, agriculture and real estate in the US and globally. This experience and our partnerships avail us to high quality investment opportunities in the farmland space, which empowers our clients to get the best value for their dollar.
All you need to get started with FarmTogether is a $15,000 investment. This unlocks a variety of opportunities across the United States, meaning you can invest based on crop type, location, or any number of financial criteria. When you invest, you become a partial owner of the farm by way of an LLC, meaning youre also entitled to a portion of the returns the LLC generates. This gives you a direct hand in the vitality of the farmland youve invested in, and helps make it easier for American farmers to adopt new technologies.
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Best Real Estate Crowdfunding Investment Platforms Of December 2021
Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list ofour partnersandhere’s how we make money.
The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks or securities.
Real estate crowdfunding has transformed the real estate investing landscape. Once reserved for only the most affluent investors, many crowdfunding platforms have significantly lowered the barrier to entry for this type of alternative investment.
Low account minimums, simple fee structures and clean user interfaces make it easier than ever to include real estate in a well-diversified portfolio. Its important to note that some real estate crowdfunding platforms, including three of our picks below, are open only to accredited investors.
What’s the difference between these platforms and REITs?
Real estate investments trusts are companies that own real estate, like hotels, malls, shopping centers or rental properties. Publicly traded REITs can be purchased through a brokerage just like individual stocks or mutual funds.
What’s the difference between these platforms and REITs?
Top Real Estate Platforms For Non
It is no secret that real estate has been used as a tool for generating wealth for decades.
We all seem to have that one friend or family member who got rich by investing in real estate. Thanks to changes in legislation, it is now easier than ever to invest in private real estate deals. This is in part due to the emergence of crowdfunded real estate investing.
In the past, private real estate investing was reserved for the elite.
These were the individuals who were lucky enough to find out about new deals first and had the capital to do something about them. The barriers to investing in real estate were high, making it a very inaccessible investment.
The internet, and in particular crowdfunding, changed all of that.
Now, investors from all over can pool money together to invest in real estate projects. Instead of having a small group of investors kicking in tens of thousands of dollars, you now have thousands of investors pitching in as little as $5 with some platforms.
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Stock And Options Trading
Kirk DuPlessis of Option Alpha explained options contracts are like insurance. As a trader, you can either be a buyer of insurance or a seller of that insurance.
On the buying side, its a way to kind of amplify your trading power through leverage. Instead of buying 100 shares of a certain stock and hoping it goes up, for example, you could buy contracts for a fraction of the share price that give you the option to buy the stock at todays price should it go up by a defined amount in a certain amount of time the contract term.
If it does, you exercise your option and make a big gain on a small initial investment. If it doesnt, you just lose your initial option contract purchase price, kind of like your car insurance premium if you dont get into a wreck.
On the seller side, youre the person selling that insurance. You collect the cash upfront, and as long as the trigger event doesnt happen, you keep it. Kirk argues that just like insurance companies are some of the most profitable in the world, option sellers are most often the winners in the options trading game.
Later, I sat down with Teri Ijeoma to learn how she earns $1000 a day trading stocks.
How Do You Become An Accredited Investor
To become an accredited investor, you must meet one of the following standards:
Once you achieve these milestones, you have access to accredited investments through achieving accredited investor status. This allows you to invest in investment opportunities like:
- private placements
- real estate deals and certain real estate investments
- convertible investments
When considering alternative investments for accredited investors, it is essential to look at them through the lens of risk and return, which varies depending on your current financial situation. It would help if you also held other considerations like portfolio diversification and liquidity.
To help with this decision-making process, weve created this list of investment opportunities for accredited investors that might be right for you. Of note, traditional investments like stocks and bonds can still present great options for your financial portfolio.
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