Wholesale investors
Access wholesale investment opportunities
If you qualify as a wholesale investor, you can register with Sharesies to be informed about wholesale investment opportunities—such as US initial public offerings (IPOs) and wholesale managed funds—offered on Sharesies.
Wholesale opportunities offered on Sharesies
Some investment opportunities are only available to wholesale investors because of how they’re structured.
From time to time, Sharesies may provide registered wholesale investors access to offers such as:
US IPOs—US companies listing on a US exchange rarely meet New Zealand’s retail rules, so these are usually wholesale-only.
Other overseas offers—share offers from markets without a retail pathway into New Zealand.
Wholesale managed funds—funds that are only offered to wholesale investors.
Private markets—private credit, venture capital, property syndicates, and private company raises.
Registering as a wholesale investor doesn’t guarantee access to any particular offer. Each offer may have its own eligibility rules, minimums, and maximums.
Qualifying as a wholesale investor
You, your company, or your trust may qualify as a wholesale investor if you fit into one of the following categories.
Either you:
have owned investments worth $1 million or more at any time during the last 2 years; or
have invested $1 million or more over the last 2 years; or
have at least 2 years’ experience making investment decisions as part of an investment business within the last 10 years.
Crypto, residential and commercial property, and KiwiSaver don’t count towards the $1 million.
For each of your last two completed financial years, you and any businesses you control had more than $5 million in net assets, or more than $5 million in turnover.
You’re a financial services business whose main activity is investing, trading, advising on or managing investments. This includes banks, non-bank deposit takers, licensed insurers, licensed investment managers, derivatives issuers and financial advisers.
You’re a New Zealand government organisation, such as a public service agency, Crown entity, local authority, state-owned enterprise or the Reserve Bank.
If you don’t fit into any of the categories above, you may still qualify as an eligible investor if you have enough investment experience to understand and assess investment opportunities and their risks. You’ll need a certificate confirmed by a financial adviser, qualified statutory accountant, or lawyer.
How to register for wholesale opportunities
There are two ways you could register, depending on how you qualify as a wholesale investor.
For experienced investors who don't meet the other categories.
You’ll need to provide an eligible investor certification that:
confirms in writing that you have relevant investing experience and understand the consequences of being treated as an eligible investor
explains the experience that supports it
relates to the specific investment or service you're applying for
is less than two years old
is confirmed in writing by a financial adviser, qualified statutory accountant, or lawyer—upload that confirmation too.
It's an offence under the Financial Markets Conduct Act to give a certificate you know is false or misleading. Fines can be up to $50,000.
What happens next
We'll review your information and get in touch if we need anything else. Processing usually takes about five business days.
Things to consider before applying for wholesale opportunities
Wholesale offers aren't necessarily better than retail ones. They can be faster for companies to run, but you'll usually get less information and fewer protections.
With a wholesale offer, you may:
not receive a PDS
not be dealing with an FMA-licensed firm
not have access to a free, independent dispute resolution scheme.
Fair dealing rules still apply, so companies can't mislead you or make unsubstantiated claims. But you'll need to do more of the homework yourself.
Before investing, ask:
What am I investing in, and how could it make or lose money?
Is the information I've been given enough?
What protections would I have if something goes wrong?
How does this fit with the rest of my portfolio?
Thinking about certifying as an eligible investor? We recommend getting independent professional advice first.
The FMA also has guidance on investments for wholesale investors.
Not already a Sharesies customer?
Create a Sharesies account for yourself, your company, or your trust to register for wholesale investment opportunities.
Still have questions?
No, Sharesies doesn’t charge a fee to register as a wholesale investor.
It usually takes about five business days for your wholesale investor application to be processed.
Not necessarily. Each offer can have its own eligibility rules, minimums, and maximums.
No. It must relate to the specific investment or service you're applying for, and be less than two years old.
Yes. To do this, you’ll need to have a company or trust account on Sharesies. You can add an organisation to your existing Sharesies account by going to Home > More ways to build wealth > Create a company, trust, or partnership account. You can also create an organisation account when you sign up to Sharesies.
Email wholesale-registration@sharesies.co.nz.
Retail vs wholesale investors: what’s the difference?
Published date,2 June 2026
7 min read
Whether you’re a retail investor or wholesale investor can decide whether you're allowed to take part in certain investment offers in NZ.
