(a) A communication will not be deemed to constitute general solicitation or general advertising if made in connection with a seminar or meeting in which more than one issuer participates that is sponsored by a college, university, or other institution of higher education, State or local government or instrumentality thereof, nonprofit organization, or angel investor group, incubator, or accelerator, provided that:

(1) No advertising for the seminar or meeting references a specific offering of securities by the issuer;

(2) The sponsor of the seminar or meeting does not:

(i) Make investment recommendations or provide investment advice to attendees of the event;

(ii) Engage in any investment negotiations between the issuer and investors attending the event;

(iii) Charge attendees of the event any fees, other than reasonable administrative fees;

(iv) Receive any compensation for making introductions between event attendees and issuers or for investment negotiations between such parties; and

(v) Receive any compensation with respect to the event that would require registration of the sponsor as a broker or a dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.) or an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-1 et seq.);

(3) The type of information regarding an offering of securities by the issuer that is communicated or distributed by or on behalf of the issuer in connection with the event is limited to a notification that the issuer is in the process of offering or planning to offer securities, the type and amount of securities being offered, the intended use of proceeds of the offering, and the unsubscribed amount in an offering; and

(4) If the event allows attendees to participate virtually, rather than in person, online participation in the event is limited to:

(i) Individuals who are members of, or otherwise associated with the sponsor organization;

(ii) Individuals that the sponsor reasonably believes are accredited investors; or

(iii) Individuals who have been invited to the event by the sponsor based on industry or investment-related experience reasonably selected by the sponsor in good faith and disclosed in the public communications about the event.

(5) For purposes of this paragraph, the term “angel investor group” means a group of accredited investors that holds regular meetings and has defined processes and procedures for making investment decisions, either individually or among the membership of the group as a whole, and is neither associated nor affiliated with brokers, dealers, or investment advisers.

(b) [Reserved]

[86 FR 3594, Jan. 14, 2021]