Title 31

SECTION 800.307

800.307 Specific clarification for investment funds.

§ 800.307 Specific clarification for investment funds.

(a) Notwithstanding § 800.303, an indirect investment by a foreign person in a TID U.S. business through an investment fund that affords the foreign person (or a designee of the foreign person) membership as a limited partner or equivalent on an advisory board or a committee of the fund shall not be considered a covered investment if:

(1) The fund is managed exclusively by a general partner, a managing member, or an equivalent;

(2) The general partner, managing member, or equivalent of the fund is not a foreign person;

(3) The advisory board or committee does not have the ability to approve, disapprove, or otherwise control:

(i) Investment decisions of the investment fund; or

(ii) Decisions made by the general partner, managing member, or equivalent related to entities in which the investment fund is invested;

(4) The foreign person does not otherwise have the ability to control the investment fund, including the authority:

(i) To approve, disapprove, or otherwise control investment decisions of the investment fund;

(ii) To approve, disapprove, or otherwise control decisions made by the general partner, managing member, or equivalent related to entities in which the investment fund is invested; or

(iii) To unilaterally dismiss, prevent the dismissal of, select, or determine the compensation of the general partner, managing member, or equivalent;

(5) The foreign person does not have access to material nonpublic technical information as a result of its participation on the advisory board or committee; and

(6) The investment does not afford the foreign person any of the access, rights, or involvement specified in § 800.211(b).

(b) For the purposes of paragraphs (a)(3) and (4) of this section, and except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, a waiver of a potential conflict of interest, a waiver of an allocation limitation, or a similar activity, applicable to a transaction pursuant to the terms of an agreement governing an investment fund shall not be considered to constitute control of investment decisions of the investment fund or decisions relating to entities in which the investment fund is invested.

(c) In extraordinary circumstances, the Committee may consider the waiver of a potential conflict of interest, the waiver of an allocation limitation, or a similar activity, applicable to a transaction pursuant to the terms of an agreement governing an investment fund, to constitute control of investment decisions of the investment fund or decisions relating to entities in which the investment fund is invested.

(d) Example: Limited Partner A, a foreign person, is a limited partner in an investment fund that invests in Corporation B, an unaffiliated TID U.S. business. The investment fund is managed exclusively by a general partner, who is not a foreign person. The investment affords Limited Partner A membership on an advisory board of the investment fund. The advisory board provides industry expertise, but it does not control investment decisions of the fund or decisions made by the general partner related to entities in which the fund is invested. Limited Partner A does not otherwise have the ability to control the fund. Limited Partner A's investment in Corporation B does not afford it access to any material nonpublic technical information in the possession of Corporation B, the right to be a member or observer, or to nominate a member or observer, to the board of Corporation B, nor any involvement in the substantive decisionmaking of Corporation B. Assuming no other facts, the indirect investment by Limited Partner A is not a covered investment.

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