If a friend refers a client to a hedge fund, do they have to be registered with the SEC?

Had a few friends ask to refer some friends of theirs to a hedge fund, but wanted some type of comission/finders fee. Although I was not sure if you technically have to be a registered broker with the SEC to be paid for referring prospective investors to hedge funds?

Can anyone comment on that? What if it is a real close friend rather than someone doing outbound sales to random people? Also, what are average % commission given, for example on a $500k investment?

Thanks

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ratman2050, hey, look at the bright side, at least you didn't get a ton of monkey shit thrown at you...here is my best guess on threads that might be helpful:

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