2023 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations › Chapter 551 - Wisconsin uniform securities law. › 551.102 - Definitions.

551.102
Definitions.
In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1m)
“Administrator" means the administrator of the division of securities in the department of financial institutions.
(2)
“Agent" means 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" means any of the following:
(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 USC 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.
(d)
A receiver, conservator, or other liquidating agent of any institution or firm included in par. (a), (b), or (c).
(4)
“Broker-dealer" means 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 any of the following:
(a)
An agent.
(b)
An issuer.
(c)
A bank or savings institution if its activities as a broker-dealer are limited to those specified in sections 3 (a) (4) and 3 (a) (5) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 USC 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 USC Section 78c (a) (4)).
(d)
An international banking institution.
(dm)
The investment board.
(e)
A person excluded by rule adopted or order issued under this chapter.
(4m)
“Certified investor" means an individual who is a resident of this state and who, at the time of an offer or sale of securities, satisfies any of the following:
(a)
Has an individual net worth, or joint net worth with the individual's spouse, of at least $750,000. For purposes of calculating net worth under this paragraph, the individual's primary residence shall be included as an asset and indebtedness secured by the primary residence shall be included as a liability.
(b)
Had an individual income in excess of $100,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with the individual's spouse in excess of $150,000 in each of those years and has a reasonable expectation of reaching the same income level in the current year.
(5)
“Depository institution" means any of the following:
(a)
A bank.
(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 any of the following:
1.
An insurance company or other organization primarily engaged in the business of insurance.
2.
A Morris Plan bank.
3.
An industrial loan company.
(5m)
“Division of securities" or “division" means the division of securities in the department of financial institutions.
(6)
“Federal covered investment adviser" means a person registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
(7)
“Federal covered security" means 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 USC 77r (b)) or rules or regulations adopted pursuant to that provision.
(8)
“Filing" means the receipt under this chapter of a record by the administrator or a designee of the administrator.
(8m)
“Financial institution holding company" means a bank holding company, as defined in 12 USC 1841 (a), or a savings and loan holding company, as defined in 12 USC 1467a (a) (1) (D).
(9)
“Fraud," “deceit," and “defraud" are not limited to common law deceit.
(9m)
“Funding portal" has the meaning given in section 3 (a) (80) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 USC 78c (a) (80)).
(10)
“Guaranteed" means guaranteed as to payment of all principal and all interest.
(11)
“Institutional investor" means 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 $10,000,000 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 $10,000,000 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. For purposes of this paragraph, “political subdivision of a state" does not include a school district.
(h)
A trust, if it has total assets in excess of $10,000,000, its trustee is a depository institution, and its participants are exclusively plans of the types identified in par. (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 USC 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 $10,000,000.
(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 USC 681 (c)) with total assets in excess of $10,000,000.
(k)
A private business development company as defined in section 202 (a) (22) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 USC 80b-2 (a) (22)) with total assets in excess of $10,000,000.
(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 CFR 230.144A).
(n)
A major U.S. institutional investor, as defined in Rule 15a-6 (b) (4) (i) adopted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.15a-6).
(o)
Any other person, other than an individual, of institutional character with total assets in excess of $2,500,000 not organized for the specific purpose of evading this chapter.
(p)
Any other person specified by rule adopted or order issued under this chapter.
(12)
“Insurance company" means 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" means insured as to payment of all principal and all interest.
(14)
“International banking institution" means 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" means a person that, for compensation, engages in the business of advising others, either directly or through publications, writings, or electronic means, 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 regarding securities to others for compensation as part of a business or that holds itself out as providing investment advice regarding securities to others for compensation. The term does not include any of the following:
(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.
(fm)
The investment board.
(g)
Any other person that is excluded by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 from the definition of investment adviser.
(h)
Any other person excluded by rule adopted or order issued under this chapter.
(16)
“Investment adviser representative" means 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 any of the following:
(a)
An individual who performs only clerical or ministerial acts.
(b)
An individual who 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)
An individual who 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 USC 80b-3a), and, in addition to the place of business, any of the following apply to the individual:
1.
The individual is an “investment adviser representative," as that term is defined by rule adopted under section 203A of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 USC 80b-3a).
2.
The individual is not a supervised person, as defined in section 202 (a) (25) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 USC 80b-2 (a) (25)).
(d)
An individual who is excluded by rule adopted or order issued under this chapter.
(17)
“Issuer" means 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.
(d)
With respect to a fractional or pool interest in a life settlement investment, “issuer" means every person who creates the fractional or pool interest for the purpose of offering or selling the interest.
(e)
With respect to a life settlement investment that is not a fractional or pool interest, “issuer" means the provider, as defined in s. 632.69 (1) (p), or the person who purchases or otherwise acquires the life settlement from a provider and then offers or sells life settlement investments except that, under this paragraph, “issuer" does not include a broker-dealer or agent registered under this chapter and does not include the owner of the insurance policy, certificate of insurance, or death benefit underlying the life settlement investment.
(17m)
“Life settlement investment" means the entire interest or any fractional or pool interest in a life insurance policy or certificate of insurance or in the death benefit thereunder that is the subject of a life settlement, as defined in s. 632.69 (1) (j), but does not include any of the following:
(a)
The assignment, transfer, sale, devise or bequest of a death benefit, life insurance policy, or certificate of insurance by the owner to a provider pursuant to s. 632.69.
(b)
The exercise of accelerated benefits pursuant to the life insurance policy or certificate and consistent with applicable law.
(18)
“Nonissuer transaction" or “nonissuer distribution" means a transaction or distribution not directly or indirectly for the benefit of the issuer.
(19)
“Offer to purchase" includes 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 USC 78n (d)).
(20)
“Person" means 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 any of the following:
(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.
(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" means ch. 551, 2005 stats.
(23)
“Price amendment" means 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," means 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 all of the following:
(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.
(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" means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
(28)
“Security" means a note; stock; treasury stock; security future; bond; debenture; evidence of indebtedness; limited partnership interest; life settlement investment or similar agreement; 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 or variable sum of money either in a lump sum or periodically for life or other specified period.
(bm)
Does not include a funding agreement authorized under s. 632.66.
(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 or in a governmental benefit plan qualified for federal income tax purposes under the Internal Revenue Code or trust or fund managed by the investment board.
(d)
Subject to the exception in par. (e), includes all of the following:
1.
An investment in a common enterprise with the expectation of profits to be derived through the essential managerial efforts of someone other than the investor. For purposes of this subdivision, a “common enterprise" is an enterprise in which the fortunes of the investor are tied to the efficacy of the efforts of those seeking the investment or a third party.
2.
Any investment by which an offeree furnishes initial value to an offeror, and a portion of this initial value is subjected to the risks of the enterprise, and the furnishing of the initial value is induced by the offeror's promises or representations which give rise to a reasonable understanding that a valuable benefit of some kind over and above the initial value will accrue to the offeree as a result of the operation of the enterprise, and the offeree does not receive the right to exercise practical and actual control over the managerial decisions of the enterprise.
(e)
Includes as an “investment contract," among other contracts, an interest in a limited liability partnership and in a limited liability company; except an interest, or class or series thereof, in a limited liability partnership or limited liability company is not an “investment contract" if any of the following apply:
1.
Each holder of an interest, or class or series thereof, is actively engaged in the management of the limited liability partnership or limited liability company. However, evidence that partners or members vote or have the right to vote, or the right to information concerning the business and affairs of the limited liability partnership or limited liability company, or the right to participate in management, shall not establish, without more, that all partners or members are actively engaged in the management of the limited liability partnership or limited liability company.
2.
Each holder of an interest, or class or series thereof, is authorized under applicable law or under the partnership, operating, or other governing agreement or document to act for and bind the limited liability partnership or limited liability company and the total number of holders of all interests in the limited liability partnership or limited liability company does not exceed 15.
(f)
Does not include a time share created and marketed in accordance with ch. 707 if the requirements under s. 707.11 are satisfied.
(g)
Does not include a membership interest in a domestic mutual holding company, as provided under s. 644.22.
(h)
Does not include as an “investment contract" any contract excluded by rule adopted or order issued under this chapter.
(29)
“Self-regulatory organization" means 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 Rulemaking Board established under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
(30)
“Sign" means to do any of the following, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:
(a)
To execute or adopt a tangible symbol.
(b)
To attach or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.
(31)
“State" means 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.
History:  2007 a. 196; 2009 a. 180, 344, 345; 2013 a. 52; 2021 a. 114.
A profit-sharing agreement between management and labor in exchange for wage concessions was not a security. Fore Way Express, Inc. v. Bast, 178 Wis. 2d 693, 505 N.W.2d 408 (Ct. App. 1993).
There is a presumption that every note is a security, which may be rebutted by showing that the note falls within or closely resembles the family of instruments deemed not to be securities. Family resemblance is determined by examining four factors: 1) the motivations of a reasonable seller and buyer; 2) the note's plan of distribution; 3) the reasonable expectations of the investing public; and 4) whether other risk-reducing factors exist, making unnecessary the application of the securities laws to protect the public. State v. McGuire, 2007 WI App 139, 302 Wis. 2d 688, 735 N.W.2d 555, 05-2832.
When a certificate of stock was mailed to the plaintiff in Wisconsin, and extensive solicitation was conducted by the defendants in Wisconsin, there was an “offer" within former s. 551.02 (11) (b), 1969 stats. Since the securities were neither registered in Wisconsin nor exempt from registration, the plaintiff was entitled to rescind the transaction and recover the purchase price of the securities, plus costs. Hardtke v. Love Tree Corp., 386 F. Supp. 1085 (1975).
An “offer to sell" under former s. 551.02 (11) (b), 1973 stats., was made when the defendant gave an unexecuted partnership agreement to the plaintiff implicitly inviting the plaintiff to return it completed as to form and amount. Feitler v. Midas Associates, 418 F. Supp. 735 (1976).
NOTE:  The above annotations refer to ch. 551 as it existed prior to its repeal and recreation by 2007 Wis. Act 196.