Risk and liability statement
Investing in early-stage companies can be rewarding, but it comes with a number of risks and challenges. Investments should only be made by investors who understand these risks. Keystones is targeted exclusively at members who are qualified to understand and assess these risks and make their own investments. Admission as a member therefore requires an individual suitability and appropriateness assessment. As this often requires an overview of one’s overall financial and tax situation, as well as an assessment of one’s investment experience, we recommend getting an overall assessment from a reputable accounting firm in this area.
If you choose to invest in companies presented to the Keystones network, you should be particularly aware of and accept the following: investment in unlisted companies may involve loss of capital, illiquidity, failure to yield and dilution and should only be made on an informed basis and as part of a diversified portfolio or through active management.
This disclaimer sets out what is your responsibility and what is Keystones’ responsibility, and it is a condition of your membership that you have read it and accept it. In our experience, it is an expression of common sense in investment and can also be usefully used as a general guideline for investment.
The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority has approved Keystones A/S pursuant to Section 48(1) of the Money Laundering Act.
1. Responsibility
Keystones is solely responsible for identifying and presenting capital and/or skills-seeking companies’ management and information materials to the limited audience of the member network – physically and/or online.
No communications by Keystones through this website or any other media shall be deemed to be investment recommendations.
Keystones is not involved in the issuance of securities and related services, and we do not provide advice on capital structure, industry strategy, or mergers and acquisitions.
Keystones is not responsible for the agreements and involvements members make in companies – including investment of venture capital and/or time and skills in companies presented to the Keystones network.
Keystones is not a platform and does not facilitate investment offers to the public or securities trading. Investments – including the subscription of securities and capital transfers – cannot therefore be made via Keystones. All order handling and investment activity takes place outside the Keystones framework, between the company and the individual member and should be done in close consultation with a lawyer.
Keystones does not act as a broker. That is, the parties do not interact through Keystones. Members have the option, under their own responsibility, to contact the presented companies directly, conduct their own research and, if necessary, involve themselves with risk time, capital and/or skills in consultation with their own advisors. Any investment decision should be made on the basis of a careful examination of the company’s staff and its information material. Please refer to Keystones’ training offer and general guidance on this.
Keystones does not provide legal, financial, tax or investment advice of any kind and is therefore not subject to any advisory liability. If you have any questions regarding legal, financial, tax or investment matters relevant to your interactions with Keystones, you should consult a professional advisor.
2. Capital loss
Most businesses in the early stages fail. If you invest in a business in its early stages, you are statistically more likely to lose all your invested capital than to see a return on capital or a profit. You should not invest more money in the type of companies presented to the Keystones network than you can afford to lose without changing your standard of living.
3. Illiquidity
Almost any investment you make in companies presented to the Keystones network will be highly illiquid. It is very unlikely that there will be a secondary market where your shares in the companies can be disposed of. Therefore, you should assume that you will probably not be able to sell your shares before and if the company is acquired by another company or becomes listed. And even if the company is bought by another company or listed, your investment may still be illiquid.
4. Rarity in yield
Companies of the type presented to the Keystones network rarely pay dividends. This means that if you invest in a company that you have become familiar with through Keystones, you are unlikely to receive any return before you can sell your shares. Even for the most successful businesses, this is unlikely to happen in a foreseeable number of years from the time you make your investment.
5. Dilution
Businesses of the type presented to the Keystones network are likely to be diluted. This means that if the company raises additional capital at a later date, it will issue new equity shares to the new investors and the share of the company you own will be reduced. The new units to new investors may be subject to certain preferential rights with respect to dividends, sales proceeds and other matters. The exercise of these rights may be inconvenient for you. Your investment may also be subject to dilution as a result of the grant of options, warrants (or similar rights to acquire equity interests) to employees, directors or certain other stakeholders of the Company.
6. Diversification
If you choose to invest in companies of the type presented to the Keystones network, such investments should generally be made as part of a well-diversified portfolio. This means that you should only invest a relatively small proportion of your investable capital in such companies, and the majority of your investable capital should be invested in safer and more liquid securities. It also means spreading your investment between several companies rather than investing a large amount in a few companies.