How am I protected as an investor?

When you invest in a Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) offering, a set of SEC rules is designed to protect your money, your rights, and your ability to make informed decisions. Here are the main safeguards.

• Investment limits. The SEC caps how much non-accredited investors can invest across all Reg CF offerings in a rolling 12-month period, based on your income and net worth. The limits are designed so a single failed investment does not devastate your finances.
• Mandatory disclosure. Every company must file a Form C with the SEC before launching its offering, covering its business plan, financial condition, use of proceeds, and the terms of the securities. Larger raises require reviewed or audited financial statements.
• Registered intermediaries. Reg CF securities must be sold through a registered funding portal or broker-dealer. On Invown, Reg CF offerings run through Invown Funding Portal LLC, an SEC-registered funding portal and FINRA member. Intermediaries must run background checks on company officers, directors, and significant shareholders, and the SEC’s bad actor rules bar people with certain securities-related convictions or sanctions from raising at all.
• The right to cancel. You can cancel your commitment for any reason up to 48 hours before the offering deadline. If the terms change materially, you must reconfirm within five business days or your investment is cancelled and your funds returned.
• Escrow. Your money does not go straight to the company. Investor funds on Invown are held in escrow with Enterprise Bank until closing, and if the offering misses its minimum funding target, funds are returned to investors.
• Ongoing reporting. After a raise closes, companies must file annual reports with the SEC, though these are less comprehensive than public-company reports and can end under certain circumstances.

You also pay no transaction fees when you invest through Invown.

These protections reduce risk; they do not remove it. Reg CF securities are speculative and illiquid, you typically cannot resell them for at least one year, and the SEC does not review or approve individual offerings. For more detail, read our guide to the seven investor-protection safeguards, or reach out via support.