Compliance Essentials for Marketing to Accredited Investors in Precious Metals

Buying physical gold or silver does not require accredited status, but the SEC definition is the clearest filter for wealthy buyers, and it becomes a legal requirement when metals are offered through a securities offering or private fund. Marketing to these investors also triggers TCPA consent, Do Not Call, CAN-SPAM, FTC endorsement and dealer AML rules. This is general information, not legal advice.

Key takeaways

• Accredited investor tests: $200K income ($300K joint), $1M net worth excluding primary residence, or a Series 7, 65 or 82 license.
• Accreditation is not required to buy bullion, but it is required for most private precious metals funds and notes sold under Regulation D.
• Rule 506(c) allows general solicitation but requires reasonable verification; a March 2025 SEC no-action letter accepts high minimums plus written representations.
• Autodialed or prerecorded marketing calls and texts to cell phones require prior express written consent; the FCC's one-to-one rule was vacated in January 2025.
• Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act limits calls to 8 a.m.–8 p.m. and three calls per 24 hours on the same subject.
• Dealers with more than $50,000 in covered purchases and sales need an AML program; cash over $10,000 requires Form 8300.
• Transparent fees, buyback terms and documented verification build trust with sophisticated buyers.

An accredited investor is a person or entity that meets the SEC's income, net worth, professional or entity tests in Rule 501(a). For individuals, that means income over $200,000 (or $300,000 jointly with a spouse or spousal equivalent) in each of the last two years with the same expected this year, or net worth over $1 million excluding the primary residence.

Individuals also qualify by holding certain licenses, and many entities qualify with over $5 million in assets. The table above summarizes each test. Our guide to accredited investor leads explains why these thresholds matter for dealers.

Holders in good standing of the Series 7 (General Securities Representative), Series 65 (Investment Adviser Representative) and Series 82 (Private Securities Offerings Representative) licenses are accredited investors, regardless of income or net worth.

The SEC added this category in its August 2020 amendments and can designate other credentials by order. The license must be active; a lapsed registration does not count. Verify license status through FINRA BrokerCheck or the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site.

No. The value of a person's primary residence is excluded from the $1 million net-worth test.

Mortgage debt on the home is also generally excluded up to the home's fair market value. Two exceptions: debt above the home's value counts as a liability, and any increase in mortgage debt within 60 days before the investment (other than to buy the home) counts as a liability. Second homes, rental properties and investment real estate do count, at value net of their debt.

Yes. Corporations, LLCs, partnerships and certain trusts with over $5 million in assets that were not formed to make the specific investment qualify, as does any entity owned entirely by accredited investors.

A trust with over $5 million directed by a sophisticated person qualifies. Since 2020, family offices with over $5 million in assets under management and their family clients qualify, as do entities owning over $5 million in investments. Banks, broker-dealers, registered advisers and insurance companies are accredited by status. For operators, entity investors often mean larger tickets and more paperwork.

No. Anyone can legally buy physical gold or silver from a dealer; a bullion sale is generally a commodity purchase, not a securities offering, so accreditation rules do not apply.

Accreditation matters when metals are offered as a security: a private precious metals fund, a mining or streaming deal, or a note or investment contract sold under Regulation D. In those cases most offerings are limited to accredited investors. Dealers still use the accredited thresholds as a wealth filter because these buyers can make larger, faster allocations. Leveraged retail metals transactions also fall under CFTC rules.

Accredited status is verified by reviewing income documents, net-worth documents, a written confirmation from a qualified third party, or, since 2025, a high minimum investment plus written representations.

The SEC's non-exclusive safe harbors under Rule 506(c) include reviewing IRS forms for the two prior years, reviewing asset statements and a credit report dated within three months, or obtaining a letter from a registered broker-dealer, SEC-registered investment adviser, licensed attorney or CPA. Issuers can also use other reasonable steps based on the facts. The table above compares the options.

In a March 12, 2025 no-action letter, SEC staff said an issuer may treat a high minimum investment as a reasonable step to verify accredited status under Rule 506(c): at least $200,000 for natural persons and $1 million for entities.

The investor must also give written representations that they are accredited and that the minimum is not financed by a third party for the purpose of the investment, and the issuer must have no actual knowledge to the contrary. The SEC also released matching Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations. The worked example below shows how it applies.

Self-certification is enough for a Rule 506(b) offering, where the issuer needs only a reasonable belief that investors are accredited, but it is not enough on its own for Rule 506(c), which requires reasonable steps to verify.

For bullion sales, there is no legal verification requirement at all. That is why the word "verified" on a lead deserves a question. Our leads are verified by phone call: a person confirms the investor's interest, capital range, asset preference and timeline. That is qualification, not a 506(c) verification letter, and sponsors running 506(c) raises should still complete their own verification.

Third-party verification falls into two groups: licensed professionals who write verification letters, and online verification platforms that collect documents and issue a letter.

Letters can come from a registered broker-dealer, an SEC-registered investment adviser, a licensed attorney or a CPA who has taken reasonable steps within the prior three months. Platforms streamline the same work for sponsors processing many investors, and some fund-administration and crowdfunding portals include verification. Check how long letters remain valid, how investor data is secured, and whether the provider will stand behind its process if an offering is reviewed.

General solicitation is advertising or broadly marketing a securities offering to people with whom you have no pre-existing substantive relationship, such as public websites, social ads, mass email or seminars. It is allowed under Rule 506(c) if all purchasers are accredited and verified, and prohibited under Rule 506(b).

These rules apply to securities offerings, such as a private precious metals fund. They do not apply to ordinary sales of physical bullion, which dealers can advertise publicly subject to consumer-protection, advertising and telemarketing laws. If your product could be an investment contract, have securities counsel review it before you advertise.

Precious metals dealers should avoid promising returns, overstating safety, hiding markups, and using fear to rush a purchase.

• No "guaranteed" profits or "risk-free" language.
• No claims that metals cannot lose value or that the dollar or banks are about to collapse.
• No "free silver" or bait pricing that is recovered through undisclosed markups.
• No implied government endorsement or misleading IRA tax claims.

The CFTC, FTC and state regulators have brought cases over exactly these tactics. See our Gold IRA guide for IRA-specific pitfalls.

Yes, in most cases. Under the federal TCPA, marketing calls or texts to a cell phone using an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice require the consumer's prior express written consent, and numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry need consent or an established business relationship.

The FCC's 2023 "one-to-one consent" rule was vacated by the Eleventh Circuit in January 2025, but consent must still clearly cover the seller calling. Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act adds limits: calls only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. local time and no more than three calls in 24 hours on the same subject. Keep consent records with every lead.

Commercial email to investors must follow CAN-SPAM: accurate header and "from" information, non-deceptive subject lines, identification as an advertisement where required, a valid physical postal address, and a working opt-out honored within 10 business days.

You remain responsible for email sent on your behalf by a vendor or affiliate. Beyond the legal minimum, permission-based lists, consistent sending domains and authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) protect deliverability. Our email-blast service sends to investors who opted in to receive investment information.

Testimonials and endorsements must reflect honest, real experiences, and any material connection, such as payment, free products or commissions, must be clearly disclosed under the FTC's Endorsement Guides.

If a testimonial describes unusually strong results, do not present it as typical. The FTC's 2024 rule also prohibits fake reviews and buying or suppressing reviews. Influencers and podcast hosts promoting your metals should disclose the sponsorship in the content itself, not only in a link. For securities offerings, check separate SEC and FINRA testimonial rules with counsel.

Store investor lead data in a secure CRM with role-based access, multi-factor authentication and encryption, keep it only as long as you need it, and require vendors to protect it by contract.

Practical steps: do not email spreadsheets of leads, limit exports, log who accesses records, keep consent records with each lead, and suppress opt-outs across every system. If you are a financial institution under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the FTC Safeguards Rule sets specific program requirements. State privacy and breach-notification laws, including Florida's, also apply if data is exposed.

Dealers in precious metals that purchased and sold more than $50,000 each of covered goods in the prior year must run a written anti-money-laundering program under 31 CFR Part 1027, and any business receiving more than $10,000 in cash in one or related transactions must file IRS/FinCEN Form 8300 within 15 days.

An AML program includes risk-based policies, a compliance officer, employee training and independent testing. Know-your-customer steps such as ID checks and screening against OFAC sanctions lists are standard practice, especially with international buyers. Florida-specific registration questions are covered in our Florida & Miami guide.

Compliance builds trust because accredited investors are used to disclosures, documented processes and fee transparency from their advisers, banks and private-placement sponsors, and they expect the same from a metals dealer.

Publishing your pricing method, buyback policy and storage options, respecting their contact preferences, and documenting verification signals that you are a long-term counterparty, not a phone room. In our experience, investors with hard-asset backgrounds ask about spreads and storage on the first call; answering plainly shortens the sales cycle. Compare this with the approach in our retail leads vs. investor intent guide.

A precious metals dealer should disclose pricing and markups, buyback terms, storage and insurance costs, shipping and delivery timelines, and the risks of investing in metals.

• Pricing: spread over spot and how the price is locked.
• Buyback: whether you repurchase and at what spread.
• Storage: depository, insurance and annual fees; IRA custodian fees.
• Delivery: timing, insurance in transit and cancellation terms.
• Risk: metals prices can fall, produce no income and may be taxed as collectibles.

The CFTC and FINRA investor alerts list the same items investors are told to ask about.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Talk to securities, telemarketing or AML counsel about your specific products and campaigns. For lead questions, contact us: text or call (786) 361-6993 or email info@accreditedinvestor.solutions.

1. Investor.gov — Accredited Investors (glossary)
2. Morgan Lewis — New SEC Guidance Eases Burden in Rule 506(c) Accredited Investor Verification Requirements (2025)
3. Crowell — SEC Issues No-Action Letter Clarifying Accredited Investor Verification Under Rule 506(c)
4. Morrison Foerster — Eleventh Circuit Vacates FCC's TCPA One-to-One Consent Rule
5. FTC — CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business
6. FTC — Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking
7. CFTC — Precious Metals: 10 Things to Know Before You Invest
8. FINRA — Buying Physical Gold or Other Metals
9. IRS — Form 8300 and Reporting Cash Payments of Over $10,000