qualified investor
(54) Qualified investor.— (A) Definition .— Except as provided in subparagraph (B), for purposes of this chapter, the term “qualified investor” means— (i) any investment company registered with the Commission under section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 [ 15 U.S.C. 80a–8 ]; (ii) any issuer eligible for an exclusion from the definition of investment company pursuant to section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 [ 15 U.S.C. 80a–3(c)(7) ]; (iii) any bank (as defined in paragraph (6) of this subsection), savings association (as defined in section 3(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act [ 12 U.S.C. 1813(b) ]), broker, dealer, insurance company (as defined in section 2(a)(13) of the Securities Act of 1933 [ 15 U.S.C. 77b(a)(13) ]), or business development company (as defined in section 2(a)(48) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 [ 15 U.S.C. 80a–2(a)(48) ]); (iv) any small business investment company licensed by the United States Small Business Administration under section 301(c) [ 15 U.S.C. 681(c) ] or (d) 1 of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958; (v) any State sponsored employee benefit plan, or any other employee benefit plan, within the meaning of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 [ 29 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.], other than an individual retirement account, if the investment decisions are made by a plan fiduciary, as defined in section 3(21) of that Act [ 29 U.S.C. 1002(21) ], which is either a bank, savings and loan association, insurance company, or registered investment adviser; (vi) any trust whose purchases of securities are directed by a person described in clauses (i) through (v) of this subparagraph; (vii) any market intermediary exempt under section 3(c)(2) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 [ 15 U.S.C. 80a–3(c)(2) ]; (viii) any associated person of a broker or dealer other than a natural person; (ix) any foreign bank (as defined in section 1(b)(7) of the International Banking Act of 1978 [ 12 U.S.C. 3101(7) ]); (x) the government of any foreign country; (xi) any corporation, company, or partnership that owns and invests on a discretionary basis, not less than $25,000,000 in investments; (xii) any natural person who owns and invests on a discretionary basis, not less than $25,000,000 in investments; (xiii) any government or political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of a government who owns and invests on a discretionary basis not less than $50,000,000 in investments; or (xiv) any multinational or supranational entity or any agency or instrumentality thereof. (B) Altered thresholds for asset-backed securities and loan participations .— For purposes of subsection (a)(5)(C)(iii) of this section and section 206(a)(5) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the term “qualified investor” has the meaning given such term by subparagraph (A) of this paragraph except that clauses (xi) and (xii) shall be applied by substituting “$10,000,000” for “$25,000,000”. (C) Additional authority .— The Commission may, by rule or order, define a “qualified investor” as any other person, taking into consideration such factors as the financial sophistication of the person, net worth, and knowledge and experience in financial matters.