by Mat Sorensen | Jul 30, 2018 | News
If you are receiving a fee for assisting someone else’s company in raising money, then you must operate within the confines of securities laws. These laws provide three different ways in which one may legally raise money for another company for a fee. You can’t get a “commission” or “bonus” or anything of value for bringing an investor to another company or person unless you fit into one of these three categories:
Broker Dealer License
First, if you are licensed and are registered with an SEC registered broker dealer, you may receive commissions and other forms of compensation for raising money in public or private offerings (e.g. private placements). The newest form of registration from FINRA is designed to license and regulate those who operate as “investment bankers,” called a “Series 79 license.” This license allows a holder to collect commissions and other fees for raising funds for an offering of equity (e.g. stock) or debt (e.g. notes or bonds). In addition to passing the licensing test, you’ll need to associate with a broker dealer.
Finder’s Fee
Second, if you take a limited role in the raising of funds and are paid a flat or hourly fee, as opposed to commissions based on funds raised, you may be able to be paid a finder’s fee for introducing investors to others. A finder’s fee can only be paid to a finder so long as:
- The finder isn’t involved in negotiations of the securities being sold.
- The finder doesn’t discuss the details of the securities.
- The finder isn’t paid based on money raised (e.g. no commission).
- The finder doesn’t perform “finding” services on a regular basis.
In sum, a finder’s fee may be paid but only to someone who makes introductions of potential investors, and the fee amount must be based on some factor other than compensation relating the persons or amount of securities sold to those introduced by the finder.
Director or Officer of Offering Company
Third, you may be able to assist in raising funds for another if you are an Officer or Director of the company whom you are raising money for. The SEC promulgated Rule 3a4-1 which is a Safe Harbor from enforcement and allows someone who serves as a paid Director or Officer to assist in selling the company’s securities. There are many ways to qualify under this Rule but the most common is to meet the following criteria:
- Be paid as a Director or Officer by salary or other criteria that is not linked to sales of securities made (e.g. be the CFO or Treasurer and offer financial consulting advice in addition to working with potential investors).
- Can’t be associated with a Broker Dealer and cannot have a prior SEC disciplinary history.
- Should stay on with the company following closing of the offering so as to show your purpose as a Director or Officer was not just for raising funds.
- Takes a passive and restrictive role in selling the securities and refers to the CEO or President for details and negotiations.
Failure to comply with the securities laws can result in civil and criminal action. In addition, investors who can claim a failure to comply with the laws outlined above are able to rescind their investment and can subject the company’s founders and the person soliciting the investment with personal liability for any losses.
by Mat Sorensen | Mar 11, 2014 | Investing
When IRA-owned property is held for rent, the management of the rental property must be structured such that rental income is received by the IRA and expenses are paid by the IRA. The IRA owner and other disqualified persons (e.g. IRA owner, spouse, etc.) cannot personally be the “middle man” by paying expenses personally or by collecting the rent in their personal account and then forwarding the funds to the IRA. There are essentially three different methods whereby the IRA may be structured to properly collect rent and pay expenses.
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Three Methods to Manage the Property
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| 1. Manage directly through the IRA. Money goes to the IRA custodian and expenses are paid by the custodian at the direction of the IRA owner. |
| 2. Property Manager. The IRA hires a property manager who manages the property and receives the income and pays property expenses. Cash flow is returned to the IRA. |
| 3. IRA/LLC. Under the IRA/LLC, the IRA owner is the manager of the IRA/LLC and receives income and pays expenses from an IRA/LLC checking account. The IRA/LLC structure is very common in IRA owned real estate investments. |
First, the IRA may be receiving the income directly and paying the expenses. This method involves a lease between the IRA and the tenant directly. Under this method, the tenant pays rental income to the IRA (e.g. ABC Trust Company FBO Sally Jones IRA) and sends the actual payment to the IRA custodian and the custodian then deposits that income into the respective IRA. If expenses are due, the IRA owner will need to direct the custodian to pay them by completing a written form (e.g. payment authorization letter) and instructing the IRA custodian as to the expenses to be paid from the IRA. There is usually a fee each time an instruction letter is issued to a self directed IRA custodian. This method can be tedious and can be fee intensive and as a result is not the most common way of managing a rental property held by an IRA.
Second, the IRA hires a property manager who receives the rental income to the property and pays the expenses to the property. The property manager cannot be a disqualified person to the IRA owner and the property manager will typically take a percent of the rental income collected as payment for their services. Under this method the IRA enters into an agreement with the property manager and the property manager then enters into leases with respective tenants. The IRA receives rental income minus property expenses and fees charged by the property manager.
Third, many IRA owners with rental property decide to use a structure known as an IRA/LLC. Under the IRA/LLC structure, the IRA invests into a newly created LLC and the IRA’s investment is then the ownership of the LLC. The IRA will invest an amount designated by the IRA owner into the LLC, and then funds are typically deposited into an LLC checking account at a bank selected by the IRA owner.
IRA/LLC Structure for Real Estate
The IRA owner then, as manager of the LLC, signs the contract for the LLC to purchase the real estate. The property should close in the LLC name with funds from the LLC bank account and the LLC then in turn rents the property, receives the income and pays the expenses all from the LLC checking account. The LLC is entirely owned by the IRA and all funds in the LLC checking account must eventually be returned to the IRA when the IRA owner desires to take a distribution.
Regardless of the method used to own and manage the IRA owned rental property, the property cannot be leased to a disqualified person. So, for example, the IRA cannot purchase a property and allow the IRA owner’s son to lease the property as that lease would be a transaction with a disqualified person which results in a prohibited transaction.
In addition to prohibited transactions that are involved in leasing the property to family members, the IRA owner should closely analyze any leasing arrangement to a company where the IRA owner or other disqualified persons are owners of the IRA or company. For example, any lease to a company that is owned 50% or more by the IRA owner or other disqualified persons would constitute a prohibited transaction. IRC § 4975(e)(2)G).
In summary, there are many different ways to manage a rental property owned by your IRA. Make sure you are implementing one of these methods and that you are managing the IRA’s income, expenses, and properties properly.
This article is an excerpt from Mat Sorensen’s book, The Self Directed IRA Handbook.
If you are receiving a fee for assisting someone else’s company in raising money, then you must operate within the confines of securities laws. These laws provide three different ways in which one may legally raise money for another company for a fee. You can’t get a “commission” or “bonus” or anything of value for bringing an investor to another company or person unless you fit into one of these three categories: