Private equity investment funds (hereinafter referred to as private equity funds) refer to investment funds established in the territory of the People's Republic of China to raise funds from investors in a non-public manner. The organizational forms of private equity funds include contract, company and partnership.
In recent years, my country’s private equity industry has developed vigorously and has become an important force supporting the development of multi-level capital markets. However, risk events such as illegal fund-raising, redemption crises, illegal propaganda, and violations of investor suitability systems have also begun to emerge. Among them, in the name of financial innovation, cases of breaking the bottom-line standard of qualified investors in disguised form have emerged one after another. As the "Interim Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Private Equity Investment Funds" (hereinafter referred to as the "Private Equity Measures") of the China Securities Regulatory Commission clearly stipulates the standards for qualified investors of private equity funds, that is, the amount of investment in a single private equity fund with corresponding risk tolerance and risk tolerance Not less than 1 million yuan, etc., in order to circumvent regulatory regulations, some companies have adopted various methods to try to break the relevant standards for qualified investors.
Take the case of investor Wang as an example. In 2014, a fund company sold limited partnership fund products to Wang. Wang actually paid only 300,000 yuan of capital, and the amount invested in a single private equity fund was less than 1 million yuan. The fund company’s act of raising funds from non-qualified investors violated Article 11 of the "Private Equity Measures", "Private equity funds shall be raised from qualified investors". The China Securities Regulatory Commission decided to issue a warning and impose a maximum fine of 30,000 yuan.
There is also a typical case of circumventing the qualified investor standard through the concept of "divided and transferred income rights" through private equity products. "XX Bao" is an Internet financial platform that provides so-called "earning rights transfer" services through its website and APP. The specific model is that the operator of "XX Bao", company C, uses its wholly-owned company D, as a qualified investor, to purchase related private equity products first; then, company D will split its private equity product income rights , Transfer to registered users through "XX Treasure", registered users can also transfer the right of income to other registered users through "XX Treasure". The starting point of investment amount set by "XX Bao" is 1,000 yuan (fixed income category) and 10,000 yuan (equity category). In addition, in accordance with the "Profit Right Transfer Agreement" signed by Company D and investors, the risks and benefits of private equity products after the transfer are borne by the transferee, the investor. Later, a certain securities regulatory bureau determined that Company C violated the provisions of the Private Equity Measures, which constituted illegal activities such as conducting private equity business to non-qualified investors, illegally transferring private equity and other private equity product shares, and the number of investors in a single private equity fund exceeding the legal limit. The company, its legal representative, and related management personnel have adopted administrative supervision measures in accordance with the law. Many investors involved in this case have also suffered losses of varying degrees, and the case has also triggered many investor complaints.
Private equity fund products have high-risk attributes and require investors with certain risk identification and bearing capabilities to purchase. In the above-mentioned case, the relevant investors took risks that exceeded their own capabilities. For example, Wang only invested 300,000 yuan to purchase a private equity fund product requiring an investment threshold of 1 million yuan; in case 2, after the private equity product was split and transferred, the risks were all transferred to investors. It can be said that the above actions have lowered the threshold of qualified investors, allowing some investors with weak risk identification and risk bearing capabilities to bear risks that they should not have taken.
Through the above cases, investors are reminded to pay attention to the following issues:
One, do what you can. Private equity fund investment has the characteristics of high risk, and higher requirements for investors' risk identification ability and risk tolerance. The "Private Equity Measures" also clearly stipulates the requirements for qualified investors of private equity funds. In addition to the investment of a single private equity fund not less than 1 million yuan, the net assets of the unit must not be less than 10 million yuan, and the personal financial assets must not be less than 3 million yuan. Yuan or the average annual personal income of not less than 500,000 Yuan in the last three years. Investors should proceed from their own reality, do what they can, and judge whether they can invest in private equity fund products against the standards of qualified investors for private equity funds, and then choose products that match their risk tolerance capabilities on the premise of meeting the standards for qualified investors .
Second, find out the details. Only private equity fund managers who are legally registered with the Fund Industry Association can raise funds from qualified investors. Investors are advised to check whether the institution has been registered with the fund industry association through the website of the fund industry association (www.amac.org.cn) before purchasing private equity products, and avoid buying through illegal channels. At the same time, it can also learn about the past performance of private equity fund managers, market reputation, and integrity standards.
3. Check the contract carefully. The fund contract is an important document that stipulates the rights and obligations between investors and private equity fund managers. Investors are advised to pay attention to whether the contract complies with the "Guidelines for Private Equity Investment Fund Contracts" issued by the Fund Industry Association when reviewing the contract, whether the rights and obligations stipulated in the contract are reasonable, whether the contract is complete, whether there are any abnormalities such as missing pages and missing pages. Read the terms carefully. Fund managers should be required to explain or explain unintelligible concepts and vague expressions, and do not be fooled or deceived by various exaggerations and false propaganda. For multiple contracts, it is also necessary to check whether the contents of each contract are completely consistent. In addition, we must be especially vigilant against illegal fundraising in the form of "financial innovation", similar to that of Company C in the second case. When purchasing financial products through the Internet platform, investors should carefully read the relevant product introductions to understand whose products they are buying, with whom they have signed contracts, where the funds are allocated, and the specific investment direction. If an abnormality is found, the fund industry association or supervisory authority should be consulted in time.
Fourth, continue to pay attention. After subscribing to private equity fund products, investors should continue to pay attention to the investment and operation of private equity fund products, and require private equity fund managers to perform their information disclosure obligations as agreed. If investors find that the manager has lost contact, the property of the fund has been embezzled or misappropriated, and the fund has major risks, it should promptly report to the securities regulatory bureau or the fund industry association where the private fund manager is registered; if the private fund manager is found to be suspected of fraud or illegal For criminal clues such as fund-raising, report to the public security and judicial organs in a timely manner.
5. To learn private equity knowledge regularly. The development of Internet technology has enabled continuous innovation in financial services. Investors should also regularly learn relevant knowledge when participating in private equity funds and other high-risk investment businesses, such as browsing the websites of regulatory authorities or fund industry associations, and reading newspapers and magazines. Carefully identify related businesses or products, and don't be fooled by so-called innovative products and super-high returns. Remember, "What you value is the income of others, but what others are thinking about is your principal." (Source: SFC website)
