Legal or not
As a private equity intern can I cold call potential investors and solicit the fund to them? Or do I need a license? Thanks.
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A private equity fund meets all of the standards of the Howey Test and is therefore a security. Sales of securities needs to be done with the proper licensure, which in this instance would probably be a Series 7. A lot of private equity firms use placement agents who have these FINRA licenses to raise the fund capital.
I’ve never been able to get a clear answer on this. If you start your career in PE do you need any FINRA licenses?
Private equity people generally don't need FINRA licenses, but they aren't soliciting investors to invest in the PE fund either.
Not for a typical PE job where your role is to do deals within the fund, and you have no interaction with the actual investors in the fund. For an IR type role where you are selling a security (such as the OP's question) you do need licenses - but even at LMM firms, IR is either outsourced or a separate team from deal professionals.
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