Do you know what an accredited investor is? I have been one since age 27. You have to have a certain income level or own a certain dollar value of assets. The SEC has changed the definition over the years. It used to be an easier hurdle to get over. The current definition is this:

• Net worth over $1 million, excluding primary residence (individually or with spouse or partner)

• Income over $200,000 (individually) or $300,000 (with spouse or partner) in each of the prior two years, and reasonably expects the same for the current year

• Investment professionals in good standing holding the general securities representative license (Series 7), the investment adviser representative license (Series 65), or the private securities offerings representative license (Series 82)

• Directors, executive officers, or general partners (GP) of the company selling the securities (or of a GP of that company)

• Any “family client” of a “family office” that qualifies as an accredited investor

• For investments in a private fund, “knowledgeable employees” of the fund.

None of the people I am running against for Nevada State Treasurer in either political party meets this criterion. It is not important if you are running for other government offices. It’s critically important if you are running for treasurer.

There is a lot of noise and lies people say when you run for office. I try to offer up solid facts to cut through the noise. One of these people is not accredited, see if you can figure out which one it is.

When I was investing in startups, you had to make sure the investors involved were accredited. If they weren’t, we would return the check. It’s not a fun conversation to have.

If my opponents wanted to invest in a company, they couldn’t. If they wanted to place money with a private hedge fund, they couldn’t. A private real estate investment fund, they couldn’t. Pick any investment that requires accreditation, and they are barred from writing a check to it.

If they do, it’s breaking the law, and it creates havoc with the rest of the investors. Want to see an investment banker’s heart sink? Tell them after the close of a deal, one of the investors isn’t accredited.

Accredited investor status means you can access all kinds of complex investments. If you aren’t, you are restricted to regular retail investments. That’s how accredited investors get outsize returns. They can take more risks and get into more complex things. Sometimes those investments fail, which is why they are only open to investors who are accredited. Failure won’t bankrupt an accredited investor if they manage their risk correctly.

It might not seem fair. But blame the SEC. There are some loopholes with crowdfunding, and I supported those. However, crowdfunding isn’t professional investing.

Accredited investors usually also know what the role of being a fiduciary is. As Nevada State Treasurer, you have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of the state. It’s not dissimilar from a board position where you have a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders of the firm. It doesn’t happen often where the fiduciary responsibility to shareholders is in conflict with your own position, or your fund’s position, but it does happen on occasion. You'd better have the ethics and the integrity to be able to carry out that fiduciary responsibility. My primary opponent does not. He is reckless and loose with the truth.

Why does accreditation matter for a state treasurer position?

Because it shows a sophistication that should come with the territory. You shouldn’t have a person operating and investing the state treasury who isn’t accredited. The Treasurer not only manages a $12 billion portfolio, but also sits on investment boards. Those boards might entertain more complex investments. If you haven’t had experience or exposure to them, you can’t add any insight to the analysis or conversation. You become dead weight at the table.

Even if you have a Chicago Booth MBA, as I do, that doesn’t make you accredited. You have to earn your way to that, not talk your way to it.

When I was on the board of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, we often had to chew on some complex deals. In one, a private equity firm tried to purchase us with most of our own cash, and then the idea was to issue debt to lever up the entire transaction.

In VC deals, sometimes there were sales that happened for cash and stock. Sometimes just stock. Sometimes just cash. Sometimes there were mergers, and you had to figure out balance sheets and cash flows. There were permutations with debt as well. Each situation becomes different, but if you don’t have the experience and core knowledge to analyze it, you will make a mess of it.

In my own personal investing, there were hedge funds, real estate funds and trusts, private equity funds, and other boutique or exotic funds that I had to analyze to see if it was worth investing in or not. Often it’s not.

I used to ladder in munibonds to bank money to pay for quarterly taxes. They’d expire before I had to pay the quarterlies. It saved you on federal and state taxes, along with giving you the benefit of earning a little interest on the money you were going to have to send to the government. We used to hedge our mortgages in the short-term interest rate (STIR) market, too.

Unless you have experience doing investments like this, it is impossible to learn on the job. Managing state finances is not a job program. You should want people who have been successful in private industry to sign up to manage civic finances.

It’s just another reason why professional finance people should think about becoming treasurers if they want to enter politics. It’s another reason why I decided to run for Nevada State Treasurer.

We are headed up to Winnemucca, Elko, and White Pine County this weekend. If you live there, I hope to be able to meet you. It is the Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner circuit. The Democrats have the Jefferson Day circuit, though I don’t think Jefferson would think too highly of the socialist Democrats today. He’d more than likely join with President Kennedy and find a home in the Republican Party.

Donate and support our campaign here. A lot of people have done so already, and I am grateful for the support. We are hitting our goals, and believe me when I tell you, every bit of support helps.

Feel free to interact with us on social media at

Instagram: JeffCarter4NV

X: @pointsnfigures1, @jeffcarternv

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeff.carter1 and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585332732619

Do you know what an accredited investor is? I have been one since age 27. You have to have a certain income level or own a certain dollar value of assets. The SEC has changed the definition over the years. It used to be an easier hurdle to get over. The current definition is this:

• Net worth over $1 million, excluding primary residence (individually or with spouse or partner)

• Income over $200,000 (individually) or $300,000 (with spouse or partner) in each of the prior two years, and reasonably expects the same for the current year

• Investment professionals in good standing holding the general securities representative license (Series 7), the investment adviser representative license (Series 65), or the private securities offerings representative license (Series 82)

• Directors, executive officers, or general partners (GP) of the company selling the securities (or of a GP of that company)

• Any “family client” of a “family office” that qualifies as an accredited investor

• For investments in a private fund, “knowledgeable employees” of the fund.

None of the people I am running against for Nevada State Treasurer in either political party meets this criterion. It is not important if you are running for other government offices. It’s critically important if you are running for treasurer.

There is a lot of noise and lies people say when you run for office. I try to offer up solid facts to cut through the noise. One of these people is not accredited, see if you can figure out which one it is.

When I was investing in startups, you had to make sure the investors involved were accredited. If they weren’t, we would return the check. It’s not a fun conversation to have.

If my opponents wanted to invest in a company, they couldn’t. If they wanted to place money with a private hedge fund, they couldn’t. A private real estate investment fund, they couldn’t. Pick any investment that requires accreditation, and they are barred from writing a check to it.

If they do, it’s breaking the law, and it creates havoc with the rest of the investors. Want to see an investment banker’s heart sink? Tell them after the close of a deal, one of the investors isn’t accredited.

Accredited investor status means you can access all kinds of complex investments. If you aren’t, you are restricted to regular retail investments. That’s how accredited investors get outsize returns. They can take more risks and get into more complex things. Sometimes those investments fail, which is why they are only open to investors who are accredited. Failure won’t bankrupt an accredited investor if they manage their risk correctly.

It might not seem fair. But blame the SEC. There are some loopholes with crowdfunding, and I supported those. However, crowdfunding isn’t professional investing.

Accredited investors usually also know what the role of being a fiduciary is. As Nevada State Treasurer, you have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of the state. It’s not dissimilar from a board position where you have a fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders of the firm. It doesn’t happen often where the fiduciary responsibility to shareholders is in conflict with your own position, or your fund’s position, but it does happen on occasion. You'd better have the ethics and the integrity to be able to carry out that fiduciary responsibility. My primary opponent does not. He is reckless and loose with the truth.

Why does accreditation matter for a state treasurer position?

Because it shows a sophistication that should come with the territory. You shouldn’t have a person operating and investing the state treasury who isn’t accredited. The Treasurer not only manages a $12 billion portfolio, but also sits on investment boards. Those boards might entertain more complex investments. If you haven’t had experience or exposure to them, you can’t add any insight to the analysis or conversation. You become dead weight at the table.

Even if you have a Chicago Booth MBA, as I do, that doesn’t make you accredited. You have to earn your way to that, not talk your way to it.

When I was on the board of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, we often had to chew on some complex deals. In one, a private equity firm tried to purchase us with most of our own cash, and then the idea was to issue debt to lever up the entire transaction.

In VC deals, sometimes there were sales that happened for cash and stock. Sometimes just stock. Sometimes just cash. Sometimes there were mergers, and you had to figure out balance sheets and cash flows. There were permutations with debt as well. Each situation becomes different, but if you don’t have the experience and core knowledge to analyze it, you will make a mess of it.

In my own personal investing, there were hedge funds, real estate funds and trusts, private equity funds, and other boutique or exotic funds that I had to analyze to see if it was worth investing in or not. Often it’s not.

I used to ladder in munibonds to bank money to pay for quarterly taxes. They’d expire before I had to pay the quarterlies. It saved you on federal and state taxes, along with giving you the benefit of earning a little interest on the money you were going to have to send to the government. We used to hedge our mortgages in the short-term interest rate (STIR) market, too.

Unless you have experience doing investments like this, it is impossible to learn on the job. Managing state finances is not a job program. You should want people who have been successful in private industry to sign up to manage civic finances.

It’s just another reason why professional finance people should think about becoming treasurers if they want to enter politics. It’s another reason why I decided to run for Nevada State Treasurer.

We are headed up to Winnemucca, Elko, and White Pine County this weekend. If you live there, I hope to be able to meet you. It is the Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner circuit. The Democrats have the Jefferson Day circuit, though I don’t think Jefferson would think too highly of the socialist Democrats today. He’d more than likely join with President Kennedy and find a home in the Republican Party.

Donate and support our campaign here. A lot of people have done so already, and I am grateful for the support. We are hitting our goals, and believe me when I tell you, every bit of support helps.

Feel free to interact with us on social media at

Instagram: JeffCarter4NV

X: @pointsnfigures1, @jeffcarternv

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeff.carter1 and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585332732619