With Regulation A+, a non-accredited investor can only invest a maximum of 10% of their annual income or 10% of their net worth per year, whichever is greater. There are no restrictions for accredited investors.

With Regulation Crowdfunding, non-accredited investors with an annual income or net worth less than $124,000 are limited to invest a maximum of 5% of the greater of those two amounts. For those with an annual income and net worth greater than $124,000, they are limited to investing 10% of the greater of the two amounts.

StartEngine makes it easy to invest using your retirement funds. You can open a self-directed IRA account through StartEngine. To get started, simply visit our IRA page for more information and step-by-step instructions.

Already have a self-directed IRA with another provider? You can still invest on StartEngine, but please note that the process will be manual and may take longer to complete.

At the close of an offering, all investors whose funds have “cleared” by this time will be included in the disbursement. At this time, each investor will receive an email from StartEngine with their Countersigned Subscription Agreement, which will serve as their proof of purchase moving forward.

Please keep in mind that a company can conduct a series of “closes” or withdrawals of funds throughout the duration of the campaign. If you are included in that withdrawal period, you will be emailed your countersigned subscription agreement and proof of purchase immediately following that withdrawal.

StartEngine assists companies in raising capital, and once the offering is closed, we are no longer involved with whether the company chooses to list shares on a secondary market or what occurs thereafter. Therefore, StartEngine has no control or insight into your investment after the close of the live offering. In addition, we are not permitted to provide financial advice. You may want to contact a financial professional to discuss possible investment outcomes.

For Regulation Crowdfunding, investors are able to cancel their investment at any point throughout the campaign up until 48 hours before the closing of the offering. Note: If the company does a rolling close, they will post an update to their current investors, giving them the opportunity to cancel during this timeframe. If you do not cancel within this 5-day timeframe, your funds will be invested in the company, and you will no longer be able to cancel the investment. If your funds show as ‘Invested’ on your account dashboard, your investment can no longer be canceled.

For Regulation A+, StartEngine allows for a four-hour cancellation period. Once the four-hour window has passed, it is up to each company to set their own cancellation policy. You may find the company’s cancellation policy in the company’s offering circular.

Once your investment is canceled, there is a 10-day clearing period (from the date your investment was submitted). After your funds have cleared the bank, you will receive your refund within 10 business days.

Refunds that are made through ACH payments can take up to 10 business days to clear. Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of the bank, but we will do everything we can to get you your refund as soon as possible. However, every investment needs to go through the clearing process in order to be sent back to the account associated with the investment.

Both Title III (Regulation Crowdfunding) and Title IV (Reg A+) help entrepreneurs crowdfund capital investments from unaccredited and accredited investors. The differences between these regulations are related to the investor limitations, the differing amounts of money companies are permitted to raise, and differing disclosure and filing requirements. To learn more about Regulation Crowdfunding, click here, and for Regulation A+, click here.