Wholesale investors
More doors open. Fewer guardrails. Know which is which.
Australian law treats some investors as able to look after themselves. If you qualify, you can access investments the general public can’t. You also lose some of the disclosure and protection that retail investors take for granted. Here’s how it works, in plain English.
The tests
Four common ways to qualify
You only need to meet one. The first two are the most common for private clients, and both need a certificate from a qualified accountant that’s no more than two years old.
| Test | What you need | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Net assets | Net assets of at least $2.5 million | Assets held by companies or trusts you control can count. So can the family home. |
| Income | Gross income of at least $250,000 in each of the last two financial years | Both years must clear the bar. Income from companies or trusts you control can count. |
| Product value | Investing at least $500,000 in a single financial product | Applies to that one investment only. Doesn’t make you wholesale across the board. |
| Professional investor | Control of at least $10 million in gross assets, or holding an AFSL | Often relevant to larger family groups and foundations. |
There’s also a sophisticated investor test, where a licensee can assess that you have enough experience to judge an investment’s merits and risks, even if you don’t meet the dollar thresholds. It’s a judgement call that has to be documented, and we treat it carefully.
These dollar thresholds have not been indexed for more than two decades and have been under review. We confirm the tests that apply at the time we assess you.
Two-minute check
Could more doors already be open to you?
About one in six Australian adults may now meet a wholesale test, up from fewer than one in fifty when the rules were written. Answer seven quick questions, one at a time. At the end you get The Wholesale Investor’s Guide to keep, and Andre will tell you, confidentially, which tests you are likely to meet and whether using them is in your interests.
This check is not a certificate and doesn’t make you a wholesale client. Status is assessed individually, and you can always choose to be treated as a retail client. Source for the one-in-six estimate: ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods (2021).
Not quite there yet?
We’d still love to help
Plenty of successful people sit just below the wholesale thresholds, often because their wealth is in a business or still growing. Wealth Effect Group gives you the same team and the same thinking, with a plan built for where you are now.
What opens up
Access you don’t get as a retail investor
- Direct corporate bonds traded over the counter, which are often only offered to wholesale investors
- Wholesale classes of managed funds, sometimes with lower fees than the retail version
- Private credit, private equity and property funds that aren’t offered to the public
- Placements, pre-IPO rounds and capital raisings by listed and unlisted companies
What you give up
Protections that no longer apply
- Offers can be made without a regulated disclosure document such as a Product Disclosure Statement or prospectus
- Issuers don’t have to apply design and distribution obligations or a target market determination to you
- Advice you receive as a wholesale client doesn’t need to come with a Statement of Advice or a Financial Services Guide
- Some complaint and compensation arrangements that protect retail clients may not be available
Our view
Qualifying is easy. Choosing well is the hard part.
A lot of Australians now pass the net assets test on the strength of their home and their super. That doesn’t make every private credit fund or property syndicate that lands in their inbox a good idea. Wholesale offers often come with less information, longer lock-ups and fees that are harder to see.
Here’s how we handle it at WE Private:
- We tell you which tests you meet and what that means in practice, before anything is signed.
- We’ll still give you full retail advice and a Statement of Advice where you’d rather keep those protections. It’s your choice, and you can change your mind.
- We review wholesale offers you’ve been sent and tell you what we’d want to know before investing. Liquidity, security, related-party dealings, who carries the risk.
- We size private market investments as part of the whole portfolio, so one illiquid holding can’t sink the plan.
Questions we’re often asked
Wholesale investor FAQs
Does my family home count towards the $2.5 million?
Under the current rules, yes. Net assets include your home, less any debt against it. This is one of the reasons the tests are under review, so it’s worth checking the position when you’re assessed.
Can my SMSF or family trust be a wholesale investor?
Often, yes. Trusts and companies can qualify in their own right or, in some cases, through the person who controls them. SMSFs have their own rules, including a net asset test applied at the fund level. The detail matters, so we check it case by case.
Who signs the accountant’s certificate?
A qualified accountant, generally a member of CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants ANZ or the Institute of Public Accountants who meets their professional development requirements. The certificate lasts two years. If you don’t have an accountant, we can introduce you to one.
Do I have to be a wholesale client to work with WE Private?
No. Many of our clients receive full retail advice. Wholesale status is a tool we use when it helps you, not a condition of working with us.
Can I go back to being treated as a retail client?
Yes. You can ask to be treated as a retail client at any time, and we’ll provide advice on that basis from then on.
Not sure where you stand?
Book a complimentary 45-minute discovery session. We’ll work out which tests you meet and whether using them is in your interests.
General information only, based on the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) including sections 708 and 761G as at October 2026. It does not consider your personal circumstances. Whether you are a wholesale client is assessed individually.
