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Overview
U.S.-only initial public offerings (IPOs) are limited to accredited investors. You can confirm your accredited investor status in the Wealthsimple app so you're ready when an eligible IPO opens. To qualify, you need more than $1,000,000 in financial assets. This requirement comes from Canadian securities law, not from Wealthsimple.
Why some IPOs require accredited investor status
Wealthsimple offers two types of IPOs:
- IPOs offered into Canada by way of a prospectus: Open to all eligible Wealthsimple clients in Canada. A prospectus is the official offering document filed with Canadian securities regulators.
- U.S.-only IPOs: Offered into Canada without a Canadian prospectus, under an exemption available only to accredited investors. Because there's no Canadian prospectus, securities law requires these IPOs to be limited to clients who qualify as accredited investors.
Who qualifies
An accredited investor meets certain financial thresholds set under securities law. You may qualify if you own more than $1,000,000 in financial assets, net of related liabilities and before taxes.
What counts toward the $1,000,000: Your financial assets, minus any margin (borrowing) balance related to those assets. Other debts, like credit card balances, aren't deducted. Assets you hold on your own, or jointly with your spouse, can count toward the threshold. Accounts held jointly with someone other than your spouse don't count.
How to confirm your status with Wealthsimple
You can check whether you qualify in the Wealthsimple app at any time. You don't need to wait for a specific IPO. Follow these steps:
- Log in to the Wealthsimple app
- Tap the Profile (person) icon in the top right corner of the screen
- Tap Accredited investor
- Tap See if you qualify
- On the Let's add up your assets screen, tap Link another account
- Choose your financial institution and sign in with your credentials for that institution
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 for any other accounts until your combined financial assets total more than $1,000,000
- Tap Done
When a U.S.-only IPO is coming up, you can also start from the Accredited investor card in your Wealthsimple Trade account, then follow steps 4 to 8.
If your financial assets total more than $1,000,000, we'll confirm you as an accredited investor. If they don't, you'll see a message that we couldn't confirm your eligibility. You can link another account or try again later.
If you already hold more than $1,000,000 in financial assets at Wealthsimple, we may confirm your status automatically.
You can only confirm your accredited investor status with your financial assets. We don't currently support income verification or manual document review.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I need to be an accredited investor for some IPOs?
Under securities law, U.S.-only IPOs can only be offered to accredited investors. To take part in those, we need to confirm you meet the criteria first.
How do I prove I'm an accredited investor?
You can link your external investment accounts so we can confirm your financial assets are more than $1,000,000. If you already hold more than $1,000,000 at Wealthsimple, we may confirm your status automatically.
Can I get verified based on my income instead of my assets?
Not at this time. The only way to confirm your accredited investor status with us is with financial assets of more than $1,000,000, either by linking accounts or through your Wealthsimple holdings. We don't currently support income verification.
What counts toward the $1,000,000?
Your financial assets, minus any margin (borrowing) balance related to those assets. Other debts, like credit card balances, aren't deducted. Assets held on your own or jointly with your spouse can count; accounts held jointly with someone else don't.
Can I lose my accredited investor status?
Yes. If your qualifying assets fall below the threshold, you may no longer qualify. For example, this can happen if you move money out of Wealthsimple. Because we monitor the assets you hold with us, we'll generally know if your status changes, and we'll prompt you to re-confirm.
What happens if I'm not truthful about my status?
Providing false or misleading information may violate securities laws. We may cancel your bid, reverse any allocation, and restrict your access to future IPOs.
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