47-31B-102 Definitions.
47-31B-102.
Definitions.
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1)
"Director," the director of securities;
(2)
"Agent," an individual, other than a broker-dealer, who represents a broker-dealer in
effecting or attempting to effect purchases or sales of securities or represents an issuer in
effecting or attempting to effect purchases or sales of the issuer's securities. But a partner,
officer, or director of a broker-dealer or issuer, or an individual having a similar status or
performing similar functions is an agent only if the individual otherwise comes within the
term. The term does not include an individual excluded by rule adopted or order issued
under this chapter;
(3)
"Bank,":
(A)
A banking institution organized under the laws of the United States;
(B)
A member bank of the Federal Reserve System;
(C)
Any other banking institution, whether incorporated or not, doing business under
the laws of a state or of the United States, a substantial portion of the business of
which consists of receiving deposits or exercising fiduciary powers similar to those
permitted to be exercised by national banks under the authority of the comptroller
of the currency pursuant to Section 1 of Public Law 87-722 (12 U.S.C. § 92a), and
which is supervised and examined by a state or federal agency having supervision
over banks, and which is not operated for the purpose of evading this chapter; and
(D)
A receiver, conservator, or other liquidating agent of any institution or firm
included in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C);
(4)
"Broker-dealer," a person engaged in the business of effecting transactions in securities
for the account of others or for the person's own account. The term does not include:
(A)
An agent;
(B)
An issuer;
(C)
A bank or savings institution if its activities as broker-dealer are limited to those
specified in subsection 3(a)(4) and 3(a)(5) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(15 U.S.C. § 78c(a)(4) and (5)), or a bank that satisfies the conditions specified in
Section 3(a)(4)(E) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. § 78c(a)(4));
(D)
An international banking institution; or
(E)
A person excluded by rule adopted or order issued under this chapter;
(5)
"Depository institution,":
(A)
A bank; or
(B)
A savings institution, trust company, credit union, or similar institution that is
organized or chartered under the laws of a state or of the United States, authorized
to receive deposits, and supervised and examined by an official or agency of a state
or the United States if its deposits or share accounts are insured to the maximum
amount authorized by statute by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the
National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, or a successor authorized by federal
law. The term does not include:
(i)
An insurance company or other organization primarily engaged in the
business of insurance;
(ii)
A Morris Plan bank; or
(iii)
An industrial loan company;
(6)
"Federal covered investment adviser," a person registered under the Investment Advisers
Act of 1940;
(7)
"Federal covered security," a security that is, or upon completion of a transaction will be,
a covered security under Section 18(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. § 77r(b))
or rules or regulations adopted pursuant to that provision;
(8)
"Filing," the receipt under this chapter of a record by the director or a designee of the
director;
(9)
"Fraud," "deceit," and " defraud," are not limited to common law deceit;
(10)
"Guaranteed," guaranteed as to payment of all principal and all interest;
(11)
"Institutional investor," any of the following, whether acting for itself or for others in a
fiduciary capacity:
(A)
A depository institution or international banking institution;
(B)
An insurance company;
(C)
A separate account of an insurance company;
(D)
An investment company as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940;
(E)
A broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934;
(F)
An employee pension, profit-sharing, or benefit plan if the plan has total assets in
excess of ten million dollars or its investment decisions are made by a named
fiduciary, as defined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, that
is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, an
investment adviser registered or exempt from registration under the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940, an investment adviser registered under this chapter, a
depository institution, or an insurance company;
(G)
A plan established and maintained by a state, a political subdivision of a state, or
an agency or instrumentality of a state or a political subdivision of a state for the
benefit of its employees, if the plan has total assets in excess of ten million dollars
or its investment decisions are made by a duly designated public official or by a
named fiduciary, as defined in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974, that is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
an investment adviser registered or exempt from registration under the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940, an investment adviser registered under this chapter, a
depository institution, or an insurance company;
(H)
A trust, if it has total assets in excess of ten million dollars, its trustee is a
depository institution, and its participants are exclusively plans of the types
identified in subparagraph (F) or (G), regardless of the size of their assets, except
a trust that includes as participants self-directed individual retirement accounts or
similar self-directed plans;
(I)
An organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (26
U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)), corporation, Massachusetts trust or similar business trust,
limited liability company, or partnership, not formed for the specific purpose of
acquiring the securities offered, with total assets in excess of ten million dollars;
(J)
A small business investment company licensed by the Small Business
Administration under Section 301(c) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958
(15 U.S.C. § 681(c)) with total assets in excess of ten million dollars;
(K)
A private business development company as defined in Section 202(a) (22) of the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. § 80b-2(a)(22)) with total assets in
excess of ten million dollars;
(L)
A federal covered investment adviser acting for its own account;
(M)
A qualified institutional buyer as defined in Rule 144A(a)(1), other than Rule
144A(a)(1)(i)(H), adopted under the Securities Act of 1933 (17 C.F.R. 230.144A);
(N)
A major United State institutional investor as defined in Rule 15a-6(b)(4)(i)
adopted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 C.F.R. 240.15a-6);
(O)
Any other person, other than an individual, of institutional character with total
assets in excess of ten million dollars not organized for the specific purpose of
evading this chapter; or
(P)
Any other person specified by rule adopted or order issued under this chapter;
(12)
"Insurance company," a company organized as an insurance company whose primary
business is writing insurance or reinsuring risks underwritten by insurance companies and
which is subject to supervision by the insurance commissioner or a similar official or
agency of a state;
(13)
"Insured," insured as to payment of all principal and all interest;
(14)
"International banking institution," an international financial institution of which the
United States is a member and whose securities are exempt from registration under the
Securities Act of 1933;
(15)
"Investment adviser," a person that, for compensation, engages in the business of advising
others, either directly or through publications or writings, as to the value of securities or
the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities or that, for compensation
and as a part of a regular business, issues or promulgates analyses or reports concerning
securities. The term includes a financial planner or other person that, as an integral
component of other financially related services, provides investment advice to others for
compensation as part of a business or that holds itself out as providing investment advice
to others for compensation. The term does not include:
(A)
An investment adviser representative;
(B)
A lawyer, accountant, engineer, or teacher whose performance of investment
advice is solely incidental to the practice of the person's profession;
(C)
A broker-dealer or its agents whose performance of investment advice is solely
incidental to the conduct of business as a broker-dealer and that does not receive
special compensation for the investment advice;
(D)
A publisher of a bona fide newspaper, news magazine, or business or financial
publication of general and regular circulation;
(E)
A federal covered investment adviser;
(F)
A bank or savings institution;
(G)
Any other person that is excluded by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 from the
definition of investment adviser; or
(H)
Any other person excluded by rule adopted or order issued under this chapter;
(16)
"Investment adviser representative," an individual employed by or associated with an
investment adviser or federal covered investment adviser and who makes any
recommendations or otherwise gives investment advice regarding securities, manages
accounts or portfolios of clients, determines which recommendation or advice regarding
securities should be given, provides investment advice or holds herself or himself out as
providing investment advice, receives compensation to solicit, offer, or negotiate for the
sale of or for selling investment advice, or supervises employees who perform any of the
foregoing. The term does not include an individual who:
(A)
Performs only clerical or ministerial acts;
(B)
Is an agent whose performance of investment advice is solely incidental to the
individual acting as an agent and who does not receive special compensation for
investment advisory services;
(C)
Is employed by or associated with a federal covered investment adviser, unless the
individual has a place of business in this state as that term is defined by rule
adopted under Section 203A of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C.
§ 80b-3a) and is:
(i)
An investment adviser representative as that term is defined by rule adopted
under Section 203A of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C.
§ 80b-3a); or
(ii)
Not a supervised person as that term is defined in Section 202(a)(25) of the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. § 80b-2(a)(25)); or
(D)
Is excluded by rule adopted or order issued under this chapter;
(17)
"Issuer," a person that issues or proposes to issue a security, subject to the following:
(A)
The issuer of a voting trust certificate, collateral trust certificate, certificate of
deposit for a security, or share in an investment company without a board of
directors or individuals performing similar functions is the person performing the
acts and assuming the duties of depositor or manager pursuant to the trust or other
agreement or instrument under which the security is issued;
(B)
The issuer of an equipment trust certificate or similar security serving the same
purpose is the person by which the property is or will be used or to which the
property or equipment is or will be leased or conditionally sold or that is otherwise
contractually responsible for assuring payment of the certificate;
(C)
The issuer of a fractional undivided interest in an oil, gas, or other mineral lease
or in payments out of production under a lease, right, or royalty is the owner of an
interest in the lease or in payments out of production under a lease, right, or
royalty, whether whole or fractional, that creates fractional interests for the purpose
of sale;
(18)
"Nonissuer transaction" or "nonissuer distribution," a transaction or distribution not
directly or indirectly for the benefit of the issuer;
(19)
"Offer to purchase," an attempt or offer to obtain, or solicitation of an offer to sell, a
security or interest in a security for value. The term does not include a tender offer that
is subject to Section 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. § 78n(d));
(20)
"Person," an individual; corporation; business trust; estate; trust; partnership; limited
liability company; association; joint venture; government; governmental subdivision,
agency, or instrumentality; public corporation; or any other legal or commercial entity;
(21)
"Place of business," of a broker-dealer, an investment adviser, or a federal covered
investment adviser means:
(A)
An office at which the broker-dealer, investment adviser, or federal covered
investment adviser regularly provides brokerage or investment advice or solicits,
meets with, or otherwise communicates with customers or clients; or
(B)
Any other location that is held out to the general public as a location at which the
broker-dealer, investment adviser, or federal covered investment adviser provides
brokerage or investment advice or solicits, meets with, or otherwise communicates
with customers or clients;
(22)
"Predecessor act," chapter 47-31A;
(23)
"Price amendment," the amendment to a registration statement filed under the Securities
Act of 1933 or, if an amendment is not filed, the prospectus or prospectus supplement
filed under the Securities Act of 1933 that includes a statement of the offering price,
underwriting and selling discounts or commissions, amount of proceeds, conversion rates,
call prices, and other matters dependent upon the offering price;
(24)
"Principal place of business," of a broker-dealer or an investment adviser means the
executive office of the broker-dealer or investment adviser from which the officers,
partners, or managers of the broker-dealer or investment adviser direct, control, and
coordinate the activities of the broker-dealer or investment adviser;
(25)
"Record," except in the phrases "of record," "official record," and "public record,"
information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or
other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form;
(26)
"Sale," includes every contract of sale, contract to sell, or disposition of, a security or
interest in a security for value, and offer to sell includes every attempt or offer to dispose
of, or solicitation of an offer to purchase, a security or interest in a security for value. Both
terms include:
(A)
A security given or delivered with, or as a bonus on account of, a purchase of
securities or any other thing constituting part of the subject of the purchase and
having been offered and sold for value;
(B)
A gift of assessable stock involving an offer and sale; and
(C)
A sale or offer of a warrant or right to purchase or subscribe to another security of
the same or another issuer and a sale or offer of a security that gives the holder a
present or future right or privilege to convert the security into another security of
the same or another issuer, including an offer of the other security;
(27)
"Securities and Exchange Commission," the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission;
(28)
"Security," a note; stock; treasury stock; security future; bond; debenture; evidence of
indebtedness; certificate of interest or participation in a profit-sharing agreement;
collateral trust certificate; preorganization certificate or subscription; transferable share;
investment contract; voting trust certificate; certificate of deposit for a security; fractional
undivided interest in oil, gas, or other mineral rights; put, call, straddle, option, or
privilege on a security, certificate of deposit, or group or index of securities, including an
interest therein or based on the value thereof; put, call, straddle, option, or privilege
entered into on a national securities exchange relating to foreign currency; or, in general,
an interest or instrument commonly known as a security; or a certificate of interest or
participation in, temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, guarantee of, or warrant
or right to subscribe to or purchase, any of the foregoing. The term:
(A)
Includes both a certificated and an uncertificated security;
(B)
Does not include an insurance or endowment policy or annuity contract under
which an insurance company promises to pay a fixed sum of money either in a
lump sum or periodically for life or other specified period;
(C)
Does not include an interest in a contributory or noncontributory pension or
welfare plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974;
(D)
Includes as an investment contract an investment in a common enterprise with the
expectation of profits to be derived primarily from the efforts of a person other than
the investor and a common enterprise means an enterprise in which the fortunes of
the investor are interwoven with those of either the person offering the investment,
a third party, or other investors; and
(E)
Includes as an investment contract, among other contracts, an interest in a limited
partnership and a limited liability company and an investment in a viatical
settlement or similar agreement;
(29)
"Self-regulatory organization," a national securities exchange registered under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, a national securities association of broker-dealers
registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, a clearing agency registered under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Municipal Securities Rule-making Board
established under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934;
(30)
"Sign," with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:
(A)
To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
(B)
To attach or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or
process;
(31)
"State," a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United
States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of
the United States.
Source: SL 2004, ch 278, § 2.