108 Securities Inc. is registered Exempt Market Dealer (EMD) with four provincial securities commissions in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec which encompasses approximately 85% of the Canadian population.

Through the 108 Online Portal, Issuers can raise private capital from individual investors using a variety of prospectus exemptions outlined below including Crowdfunding, Offering Memorandum, Accredited, Friends, Family and Business Associates (FFBA). Part of 108’s role as a dealer is to facilitate the appropriate investor classification and prospectus exemption to be used.

A successful crowd funded offering, can bring many useful shareholder relationships together that can ultimately increase the success of the Issuer. The new shareholders may be customers, suppliers, distributors, landlords, or professional service providers – all with a vested interest helping the company achieve success.

An Exempt Market Dealer is a company that is an investment dealer in the private or ‘exempt’ markets. The Canadian Securities Administrators maintain a database of all actively registered market participants, including 108 Securities Inc.. You can confirm our registration here.

108, as an exempt market dealer is not permitted to provide any investment advice however, through our investor account setup and profile questions, we do perform a suitability analysis on each investment we process on the platform that involves a review of the investors financial position and investment time horizons as well as risk acknowledgement confirmations.

Each investor has a different level of risk tolerance and financial position that needs to be considered to determine if a specific investment is aligned with your investment goals and financial circumstances. 108’s account setup questionnaire helps us determine the know-your-client (KYC) responsibilities, and ultimately determine the suitability of the investment. If we determine that it is not suitable, we may be able to accommodate the investment with a lower investment level with the exemption being used.

There are different risks to consider when making any investment including: loss, liquidity, industry, management quality, information. All of these risks will vary from one investment to another and will need to be carefully considered before you make your final investment decision.

This is often determined based upon a number of factors including, the prospectus exemption being used, the financial profile of the individual investor and the jurisdiction that the investor resides.

Each Issuer will define the minimum amount of capital that an investor needs to invest to purchase shares in a company, typically a multiple of the individual share price. For example, if common shares are being offered for $5.00, a minimum investment amount could be set at $250.00 to purchase 50 shares. The minimum threshold will vary across various Issuer fund raising campaigns.

Equity crowdfunding is the online offering of private company securities to a group of people for investment and therefore it is a part of the capital markets. Because equity crowdfunding involves investment into a commercial enterprise, it is often subject to securities and financial regulation. In Canada, equity crowdfunding can be conducted commonly using a variety of prospectus exemptions including Crowdfunding NI 45-110, Offering Memorandums or Accredited Investor, Friends & Family. In 2016, the crowdfunding legislation, NI 45-108 (later NI 45-110) was passed allowing non-accredited investors to invest in private companies to be solicited through online registered and regulated platforms.

In all provinces in Canada, Individuals who have a net financial assets (excluding their primary residence), either alone or with their domestic partner, exceeds $1,000,000, OR have an annual household income in the two most recent years that exceeds $200,000 (or $300,000 including that of their domestic partner) OR Net Assets, individually or combined with a spouse, is greater than $5,000,000 (including real estate).

In Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia an Eligible Investor meets the following criterion: Individual annual income before taxes exceeded $75,000 CAD for the past 2 years, and expected to be the same or above this calendar year, Income before taxes, alone or combined with a spouse,  exceeded $125,000 CAD for the past 2 years, and is expected to be the same or above this year, or Total Net Assets as an individual or combined with a spouse exceeds $400,000 CAD. In British Columbia has no limitations in categories to be considered and Eligible Investor.

A Retail Investor is an individual who does not meet the criterion to be an Eligible Investor or an Accredited Investor as defined in NI 45-106 definitions subsection 1.1. Under the crowdfunding prospectus exemption NI 45-110, the Retail Investor can invest up to $2,500 in any one issuer and up to $10,000 if advised by a registrant.

Issuers, in addition to their offering documents located on their offering site, may also provide further background information on their operational and financing activities.

108 provides for a variety of forms of payments including credit, e-transfer, wire payment and direct withdrawal from your financial institution account.

There is currently no market for liquidity for the shares sold on 108. You should plan to hold your investment for a longer period before a liquidity event is likely to occur.

A liquidity event is considered an exit strategy for an illiquid investment—that is, for equity that has little or no market to trade on. Founders of a firm push toward a liquidity event and investors (such as venture capital firms, angel investors, or private equity firms) expect one within a reasonable amount of time after initially investing their capital.

Financial institution and banking regulations, along with anti-fraud and money-laundering laws, as a diligence process, require us to ask for and verify your personal information before we can allow investors to make an investment.