Iowa Code § 502A.4 - Exempt transactions

1. Section 502A.2 does not apply to any of the following: a. An account, agreement, or transaction within the exclusive jurisdiction of the commodity futures trading commission as granted under the Commodity Exchange Act. b. A commodity contract, offered or sold by a qualified seller as defined in subsection 2, for the purchase of one or more precious metals which requires, and under which the purchaser receives, within twenty-eight days from the payment in good funds of any portion of the purchase price, physical delivery of the quantity of the precious metals purchased by the payment. For purposes of this paragraph, physical delivery shall be deemed to have occurred if both of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) Within twenty-eight days, the required quantity of precious metals purchased by the payment is delivered, whether in specifically segregated or fungible bulk form, into the possession of a depository, other than the seller, which is any of the following: (a) A financial institution. (b) A depository the warehouse receipts of which are recognized for delivery purposes for any commodity on a contract market designated by the commodity futures trading commission. (c) A storage facility licensed or regulated by the United States or any agency of the United States. (d) A depository designated by the administrator. (2) The depository or a qualified seller issues and the purchaser receives, a certificate, document of title, confirmation, or other instrument evidencing that the required quantity of precious metals has been delivered to the depository and is being and will continue to be held by the depository on the purchaser’s behalf, free and clear of all liens and encumbrances, other than liens of the purchaser, tax liens, liens agreed to by the purchaser, or liens of the depository for fees and expenses, which have previously been disclosed to the purchaser. c. For the purposes of paragraph “b”, a depository other than the seller shall not include a financial institution which makes loans to enable the borrower to finance the purchase of one or more precious metals if any of the following apply: (1) The financial institution knows that the seller arranged for a commission, brokerage, or referral fee for the extension of credit by the financial institution. (2) The financial institution is a person related to the seller, unless the relationship is remote or is not a factor in the transaction. (3) The seller guarantees the loan or otherwise assumes the risk of loss by the financial institution upon the loan. (4) The financial institution directly supplies the seller with the contract document used by the borrower to evidence the loan, and the seller has knowledge of the credit terms and participates in the preparation of the document. (5) The loan is conditioned upon the borrower’s purchase of the precious metals from a particular seller, but the financial institution’s payment of proceeds of the loan to the seller does not in itself establish that the loan was so conditioned. (6) The financial institution otherwise knowingly participates with the seller in the sale. The fact that the financial institution takes a security interest in the precious metals sold or makes the proceeds of the loan payable to the seller does not in itself constitute knowing participation in the sale. d. A commodity contract solely between persons engaged in producing, processing, using commercially or handling as merchants, the commodity which is the subject of the contract, or any by-product of the commodity. e. A commodity contract under which the offeree or the purchaser is a person under section 502A.3, an insurance company, an investment company as defined in the federal Investment Company Act of 1940, 15 U.S.C. §80a-1 et seq., or an employee pension and profit sharing or benefit plan other than a self-employed individual retirement plan, or individual retirement account. 2. For the purposes of subsection 1, paragraph “b”, a qualified seller is a person who satisfies all of the following conditions: a. Is a seller of precious metals and has a tangible net worth of at least five million dollars, or has an affiliate who has unconditionally guaranteed the obligations and liabilities of the seller and the affiliate has a tangible net worth of at least five million dollars. b. Has stored precious metals with one or more depositories on behalf of customers for at least the previous three years. c. Prior to any offer, files with the administrator a sworn notice of intent to act as a qualified seller under subsection 1, paragraph “b”, and annually files a new notice. A notice of intent to act as a qualified seller must contain all of the following: (1) The seller’s name and address, names of its directors, officers, controlling shareholders, partners, principals, and other controlling persons. (2) The address of its principal place of business, state and date of incorporation or organization, and the name and address of seller’s registered agent in this state. (3) A statement that the seller, or a person affiliated with the seller who has guaranteed the obligations and liabilities of the seller, has a tangible net worth of at least five million dollars. (4) Depository information including all of the following: (a) The name and address of the depository or depositories that the seller intends to use. (b) The name and address of each and every depository where the seller has stored precious metals on behalf of customers for the previous three years. (c) Independent verification from each and every depository named in subparagraph division (b) that the seller has in fact stored precious metals on behalf of the seller’s customers for the previous three years and a statement of total deposits made during this period. (5) Financial statements for the seller, or the person affiliated with the seller who has guaranteed the obligations and liabilities of the seller, for the past three years, audited by an independent certified public accountant, together with the accountant’s reports. (6) A statement describing the details of all civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings currently pending or adversely resolved against the seller or its directors, officers, controlling shareholders, partners, principals, or other controlling persons during the past ten years including all of the following in subparagraph divisions (a) through (d), or if not applicable, subparagraph division (e): (a) Civil litigation and administrative proceedings involving securities or commodities violations, or fraud. (b) Criminal proceedings. (c) Denials, suspensions, or revocations of securities or commodities, licenses, or registrations. (d) Suspensions or expulsions from membership in, or associations with, self-regulatory organizations registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Commodities Exchange Act. (e) A statement that there were no such proceedings. d. Notifies the administrator within fifteen days of any material changes in the information provided in the notice of intent. e. Annually furnishes to each purchaser for whom the seller is then storing precious metals, and to the administrator, a report by an independent certified public accountant of the accountant’s examination of the seller’s precious metals storage program. 3. The administrator may, upon request by the seller, waive any of the exempt transaction requirements of this section, conditionally or unconditionally. 4. The administrator may, by order, deny, suspend, revoke, or place limitations on the authority to engage in business as a qualified seller under subsection 1, paragraph “b” if the administrator finds that the order is in the public interest and that the person, the person’s officers, directors, partners, agents, servants or employees, a person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions, a person who directly or indirectly controls or is controlled by the seller, or any of them, the seller’s affiliates or subsidiaries meets any of the following conditions: a. Has filed a notice of intention under subsection 2 with the administrator or the designee of the administrator which was incomplete in any material respect or contained any statement which was, in light of the circumstances under which it was made, false or misleading with respect to any material fact. b. Has, within the last ten years, pled guilty or nolo contendere to, or been convicted of any crime indicating a lack of fitness to engage in the investment commodity business. c. Has been permanently or temporarily enjoined by any court of competent jurisdiction from engaging in, or continuing, any conduct or practice which injunction indicates a lack of fitness to engage in the investment commodities business. d. Is the subject of an order of the administrator denying, suspending, or revoking the person’s license as a securities broker-dealer, sales representative, or investment adviser. e. Is the subject of any of the following orders which are currently effective and which were issued within the last five years: (1) An order by the securities agency or administrator of another state, Canadian province or territory, the securities and exchange commission, or the commodity futures trading commission, entered after notice and opportunity for hearing, denying, suspending, or revoking the person’s registration as a futures commission merchant, commodity trading adviser, commodity pool operator, securities broker-dealer, sales representative, or investment adviser, or the substantial equivalent of those terms. (2) Suspension or expulsion from membership in, or association with, a self-regulatory organization registered under the federal Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or the Commodity Exchange Act. (3) A United States postal service fraud order. (4) A cease and desist order entered after notice and opportunity of hearing by the administrator or the securities agency or administrator of any other state, Canadian province or territory, the United States securities and exchange commission, or the commodity futures trading commission. (5) An order entered by the commodity futures trading commission denying, suspending, or revoking registration under the Commodity Exchange Act. f. Has engaged in an unethical or dishonest act or practice in the investment commodities or securities business. g. Has failed reasonably to supervise sales representatives or employees. 5. If the public interest or the protection of investors so requires, the administrator may, by order, summarily deny or suspend the exemption for a qualified seller. Upon the entry of the order, the administrator shall promptly notify the person claiming such status that an order has been entered and the reasons for the order and that within thirty days after the receipt of a written request the matter will be set for hearing. Section 502A.20 applies with respect to all subsequent proceedings. 6. If the administrator finds that any applicant or qualified seller is no longer in existence or has ceased to do business or is subject to an adjudication of mental incompetence or to the control of a committee, conservator, or guardian, or cannot be located after reasonable search, the administrator may, by order, deny or revoke the exemption for a qualified seller. 7. The administrator may issue rules or orders prescribing the terms and conditions of all transactions and contracts covered by this chapter which are not within the exclusive jurisdiction of the commodity futures trading commission as granted by the Commodity Exchange Act, exempting and conditionally or unconditionally and otherwise implementing this chapter for the protection of purchasers and sellers of commodities. 90 Acts, ch 1169, §4; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §263; 2015 Acts, ch 30, §162 Referred to in §502A.2, 502A.6, 502A.22