For the purposes of Act No. 240/2013 Coll., an investor may qualify as a qualified investor either by virtue of their professional or institutional status or by meeting the conditions set out in Section 272 of the Act, including the minimum investment amount and a written declaration of understanding of investment risks. Qualification is therefore not determined solely by the amount invested.
1. Legal bases for Qualified Investor status (ZISIF)
Under Act No. 240/2013 Coll. (ZISIF), an investor may qualify as a qualified investor based on any of the following legal bases:
A. Professional / institutional status (automatic qualification)
Certain entities are considered qualified investors by law, regardless of investment amount, due to their nature, regulatory status, or professional activity.
These include, in particular:
banks, credit institutions, and investment firms;
insurance and reinsurance companies;
pension companies and pension funds;
management companies and investment funds;
the Czech National Bank, central banks, and supranational institutions;
states and public authorities managing public debt;
large corporate entities meeting professional criteria set out in financial market regulations.
For these entities, no minimum investment amount is required to qualify as a qualified investor.
B. Elective qualification based on investment amount (§ 272 ZISIF)
Natural persons or legal entities that do not fall into the professional categories above may qualify as qualified investors if they:
This is the route most commonly used for individuals and private companies.
Although no statutory minimum investment amount applies to investors admitted solely under Section 15 of Act No. 240/2013 Coll., Capital Lift has adopted a voluntary minimum investment threshold for semi-qualified investors as an internal risk-mitigation measure in order to ensure that investments are made only by investors capable of bearing the economic risks of the investment and to prevent de-facto retail distribution.