How to read this page
Primary law is hosted; research is referenced. Every legal characterization on this site is graded adversarially against the primary sources in Part 1, which are archived in this folder as clean text and PDF so the chain of authority is inspectable without leaving the site. The research library in Part 2 grounds the structural and compensation design in published economics and professional-services scholarship; those works are copyrighted and hosted by their publishers, so we link out to the original source rather than rehost.
Retrieval dates are left UNKNOWN where not certain (not fabricated). Status legend for Part 1: primary-archived full primary text/PDF saved here · primary-cited-only authoritative source relied on and cited but not yet archived here.
Part 1 · Primary legal sources — hosted & archived
The controlling law for the creator-compensation question: can you pay a creator to promote or solicit for an adviser or private fund, and under what conditions. Each row links to the archived file in /legal/, with the pinpoint citation and the key sections flagged for the analysis.
| Citation | File | Status | Key flagged sections |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 U.S.C. § 78o(a)(1)–(2) Securities Exchange Act of 1934 § 15(a) |
usc-15-78o-a-broker-registration.md | primary-archived | § 78o(a)(1) core broker/dealer registration prohibition (“induce or attempt to induce the purchase or sale of, any security” — the hook pulling a compensated creator/solicitor into unregistered-broker status); § 78o(a)(2) SEC conditional-exemption authority (statutory basis for safe harbors like Rule 3a4-1). |
| 15 U.S.C. § 78c(a)(4) Exchange Act § 3(a)(4), pinpoint (a)(4)(A) |
usc-15-78c-a4-broker-definition.md | primary-archived | (a)(4)(A) core “broker” test — “engaged in the business of effecting transactions in securities for the account of others” (transaction-based / %-of-raise comp pushes toward broker status; flat content fees do not by themselves); (a)(4)(B)(i)–(xi) bank-activity carve-outs incl. de minimis 500 txns/yr; (a)(4)(C)/(D) — all bank-specific, unavailable to a non-bank creator platform. |
| 17 CFR § 240.3a4-1 Issuer safe harbor · 50 FR 27946 (Jul. 9, 1985) |
cfr-17-240-3a4-1-issuer-safe-harbor.md | primary-archived | (a)(2) absolute bar on transaction-based comp; (a)(4)(ii)(A) substantial non-securities issuer duties; (a)(4)(ii)(B) not a BD within prior 12 months; (a)(4)(ii)(C) once-per-12-months offering limit; (a)(1)/(a)(3) disqualification & BD-association screens; (b) no negative presumption from failing the harbor; (c)(1) scope limit — reaches only a natural-person partner/officer/director/employee of the issuer, so an unaffiliated third-party creator cannot rely on 3a4-1. |
| 17 CFR § 275.206(4)-1 Investment Adviser Marketing Rule · adopting rel. IA-5653 (Dec. 22, 2020); compliance date May 4, 2022 |
cfr-17-275-206-4-1-marketing-rule.md | primary-archived | (b) compensation-for-testimonial/endorsement trigger; (b)(1) clear-and-prominent disclosures + (b)(1)(ii) material terms of comp; (b)(2) reasonable-basis belief + written agreement; (b)(3) ineligible-person disqualification screen; (b)(4) de minimis / affiliate / BD / Reg D 506(d) exemptions; (e)(5) “endorsement,” (e)(9) “ineligible person,” (e)(17) “testimonial.” NOTE: adopted rule does not use “promoter” (proposal-only). |
| 17 CFR § 275.205-3 Advisers Act Rule 205-3 (qualified client), impl. § 205(a)(1) & (e) [15 U.S.C. 80b-5] |
cfr-17-275-205-3-qualified-client.md | primary-archived | (a) carry permitted only if client is a qualified client; (b) private-fund look-through (each equity owner is a “client”); (d)(1)(i) AUM test; (d)(1)(ii)(A) net-worth test w/ primary-residence exclusion; (d)(1)(ii)(B) qualified-purchaser prong; (d)(1)(iii) knowledgeable-employee prong; (d)(3) “private investment company” (3(c)(1) fund); (e) inflation-adjustment — base amounts $750K (AUM) / $1.5M (net worth). CAVEAT: live thresholds live in the SEC order, not the rule. |
| 17 CFR § 230.506 Reg D Rule 506(b)/(c)/(d)/(e) · 47 FR 11262 (1982), as amended thru 86 FR 3598 (Jan. 14, 2021) |
cfr-17-230-506-reg-d.md | primary-archived | (d)(1) compensated-solicitor covered-person clause (“any person that has been or will be paid…remuneration for solicitation of purchasers”); (d)(1)(i)(C)/(ii)(C) “paid solicitor of purchasers” disqualifying events; (d)(2)(iv) + Instruction reasonable-care / factual-inquiry defense; (c)(2)(ii) accredited-investor verification methods (A)–(E); (b)(2)(i) 35-purchaser/90-day cap + no general solicitation (broad creator promotion pushes a raise into 506(c)). |
| 15 U.S.C. § 77q(b) Securities Act of 1933 § 17(b) — anti-touting |
usc-15-77q-b-anti-touting.md | primary-archived | § 77q(b) anti-touting disclosure duty — reaches promotional/editorial content (“though not purporting to offer a security for sale”), any consideration “directly or indirectly” from issuer/underwriter/dealer, with full disclosure of receipt (past & prospective) and the amount (a bare “#ad” omitting amount fails); § 77q(c) touting duty not lifted by § 77c registration exemptions; § 77q(a)(1)–(3) fraud backstop. |
| 17 CFR § 270.3c-5 Investment Company Act Rule 3c-5 (knowledgeable employee) · 62 FR 17529 (Apr. 9, 1997) |
cfr-17-270-3c-5-knowledgeable-employee.md | primary-archived | (a)(4)(i) status-only KE route (GP/director/advisory-board member/exec officer, no tenure test); (a)(4)(ii) dual prong — genuine participation in investment activities AND 12-month tenure (a paid promoter/marketer fails “participates in investment activities”); (a)(3) “Executive Officer” (nominal title insufficient); (b)(1)–(2) KE holdings excluded from 3(c)(1)/3(c)(7) headcount. Caveat: 3c-5 governs only headcount, not broker-registration or Marketing-Rule issues. |
| In re Ranieri Partners LLC & Donald W. Phillips Exch. Act Rel. 69091 / IA Rel. 3563, AP File 3-15234 (Mar. 8, 2013) |
sec-ranieri-partners-2013.pdf · .md | primary-archived | HOLDING: transaction-based comp for solicitation (1% / 0.3% of capital commitments, ~$2.4M paid) = operating as unregistered broker under Exch. Act § 15(a); solicitation prongs (sending PPMs/subscription docs, urging allocation, sharing analysis/other-investor info); firm liability (¶18) + individual liability (¶20/¶22, Phillips aided & abetted); sanctions ($375K firm penalty; Phillips 9-mo supervisory suspension + $75K). |
| In re Van Eck Associates Corp. IA Act Rel. 6560 / Inv. Co. Act Rel. 35132, AP File 3-21857 (Feb. 16, 2024) — BUZZ ETF finfluencer comp |
sec-vaneck-buzz-2024.pdf · .md | primary-archived | ¶2 AUM-threshold fee pivot (flat → success-linked to incentivize influencer); ¶8 original flat 20% proposal; ¶10 success-linked scale (20%→as much as 60% above $1.25B AUM) + influencer equity; ¶15 disclosure defect (disclosed 20% flat, hid sliding scale from Board); ¶24 AUM-linked comp material to profitability; Violations ¶¶27–29 (Inv. Co. Act § 15(c); Advisers Act § 206(2); § 206(4)/Rule 206(4)-7); sanctions cease-and-desist + censure + $1.75M penalty. |
| Investment Adviser Marketing (final rule) IA Act Rel. IA-5653, File S7-21-19 (Dec. 22, 2020); eff. May 4, 2021; 430 pp. |
sec-marketing-rule-release-ia-5653.pdf · .md | primary-archived | “A promoter also may be acting as a broker or dealer” note (§ II.C.5.e, pp. 55–56 — promoter's own § 15(a) BD-registration duty); withdrawal of 1979 no-registration position for solicitors; supervised-person carve-out; operative rule 206(4)-1(b)(1)–(4) compensated-endorsement stack; de minimis $1,000/12-mo (e)(2); “ineligible person” (e)(9); endorsement/testimonial defs (e)(5),(e)(17). |
| SEC Div. of Examinations Risk Alert “Additional Observations Regarding Advisers' Compliance with the Marketing Rule” (Dec. 16, 2025) — Rule 206(4)-1(b) & (c) |
sec-finfluencer-risk-alert-2025.pdf · .md | primary-archived | § II.A disclosure defects (hyperlinked / small-font disclosures fail clear-and-prominent under (b)(1)(i)); (b)(1)(ii) material terms — social-media influencers named as compensated promoters; fn 16 quantum-of-comp detail (amount / % / period); (b)(2)(i)–(ii) reasonable-basis belief + written agreement; de minimis $1,000-over-12-months aggregation trap ((b)(4)(i)/(e)(2)); fn 4 promoter's own IA and/or § 15(a) BD-registration duty. Caveat: staff statement, “no legal force or effect.” |
| Live qualified-client dollar-amount order SEC order under Advisers Act § 205(e) (e.g. IA-6961 / the ~May 1, 2026 five-year adjustment) |
not archived here — pull next to close the chain | primary-cited-only | Rule 205-3(d)(1)(i)/(ii)(A) point to “the applicable dollar amount specified in the most recent order” — the operative carry-eligibility thresholds must be cited from this Federal Register order, not from § 275.205-3 itself (which carries only the $750K / $1.5M base amounts). Source: sec.gov/rules/other. |
Full manifest with retrieval notes: legal/MANIFEST.md. Primary law is grounded through the SEC / GPO / Cornell LII sources cited in each file header (Cornell LII & sec.gov URLs are recorded per row in the manifest).
Part 2 · Research & academic sources — link-out, not rehosted
The platform-economics, professional-services, contract-theory, and creator-economy literature behind the structural design (six literature maps; see the source manifest). These works are copyrighted and hosted by their publishers — each row links out to the original source; nothing here is rehosted. Tier: academic peer-reviewed / working paper / Nobel material · practitioner trade press / blog / study notes · book no free full text.
| Citation | Tier | Original source (link out) |
|---|---|---|
| Rochet & Tirole (2003), Platform Competition in Two-Sided Markets, J. Eur. Econ. Assoc. | academic | doi.org/10.1162/154247603322493212 |
| Rochet & Tirole (2006), Two-Sided Markets: A Progress Report, RAND J. Econ. | academic | doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-2171.2006.tb00036.x |
| Armstrong (2006), Competition in Two-Sided Markets, RAND J. Econ. | academic | doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-2171.2006.tb00037.x |
| Rysman (2009), The Economics of Two-Sided Markets, J. Econ. Perspectives | academic | doi.org/10.1257/jep.23.3.125 |
| Katz & Shapiro (1985), Network Externalities, Competition, and Compatibility, Am. Econ. Rev. | academic | jstor.org/stable/1814809 |
| Hagiu, HBS Working Paper 07-077 (platform / two-sided design) | academic | hbs.edu/…/07-077.pdf |
| Eisenmann, Parker & Van Alstyne (2006), Strategies for Two-Sided Markets, Harvard Business Review | practitioner | hbr.org/2006/10/strategies-for-two-sided-markets |
| Garicano & Hubbard (2003/2009), Specialization, Firms, and Markets: Division of Labor Within & Between Law Firms, J. Law Econ. Org. | academic | doi.org/10.1093/jleo/ewp002 |
| Garicano & Hubbard, Hierarchies in law firms (companion) | academic | doi.org/10.1093/jleo/ewm035 |
| Gilson & Mnookin (1985), Sharing Among the Human Capitalists, Stanford Law Review | academic | jstor.org/stable/1228694 |
| Morley (2019), Why Law Firms Collapse, Boston Univ. Law Review | academic | scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/2532 |
| Morley (2017), professional-firm essay, Columbia Law & Econ. | academic | scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship |
| O'Mahoney, Leverage in professional-service (consulting) firms (eBook) | book | Oxford University Press |
| Jensen & Meckling (1976), Theory of the Firm: Agency Costs & Ownership Structure, J. Financial Econ. | academic | doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(76)90026-X |
| Holmström (1982), Moral Hazard in Teams, Bell J. Econ. | academic | jstor.org/stable/3003457 |
| Lazear & Rosen (1981), Rank-Order Tournaments as Optimum Labor Contracts, J. Political Econ. | academic | nber.org/papers/w0401 |
| Kandel & Lazear (1992), Peer Pressure and Partnerships, J. Political Econ. | academic | doi.org/10.1086/261840 |
| Corgnet, Hernán-González & Rassenti (2013), Peer Pressure & Moral Hazard in Teams | academic | Chapman ESI working paper |
| Alchian & Demsetz (1972), Production, Information Costs, and Economic Organization (study notes) | practitioner | jstor.org/stable/1815199 (original) |
| Akerlof (1970), The Market for Lemons, Q. J. Econ. | academic | doi.org/10.2307/1879431 |
| Nobel Committee (2010), scientific background: search & matching frictions (DMP) | academic | nobelprize.org/…/2010 |
| Hart (2016), Nobel lecture / Incomplete Contracts and Control | academic | nobelprize.org/…/2016/hart |
| Roth & Sotomayor, Two-Sided Matching: A Study in Game-Theoretic Modeling (book) | book | Cambridge University Press |
| Sargent / Jovanovic, learning models (study notes) | practitioner | Jovanovic (1979), JPE (original) |
| Stable-marriage / school-choice matching (study notes) | practitioner | Gale & Shapley (1962), Amer. Math. Monthly (original) |
| Fiveable, signaling / screening study notes | practitioner | library.fiveable.me |
| Gompers & Lerner (1998/9), VC fundraising / deal selection | academic | nber.org/papers/w6906 |
| Belleflamme, Lambert & Schwienbacher (2014), Crowdfunding: Tapping the Right Crowd, J. Business Venturing | academic | doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2013.07.003 |
| AngelInvestorsNetwork — how carry works | practitioner | angelinvestorsnetwork.com |
| GovcLab — LP–GP matching | practitioner | govclab.com |
| Qubit — carry mechanics | practitioner | qubit.capital |
| Visible.vc — carry explainer | practitioner | visible.vc |
| OpenVC — creator-economy investors | practitioner | openvc.app |
| MAccelerator — revenue share | practitioner | maccelerator.la |
| MilX — platform money-flow | practitioner | milx.io |
| Forbes — creator economy (two features) | practitioner | forbes.com |
| Everything PR — creator splits | practitioner | everything-pr.com |
| Trophy — creator equity | practitioner | trophy.so |
| Anderson (2011), Partner Compensation Systems, Managing Partner Forum | practitioner | managingpartnerforum.org |
| BCG — partner compensation | practitioner | bcg.com |
| Vencon — consulting compensation | practitioner | vencon.com |
| Above the Law — Paul Weiss non-equity tier | practitioner | abovethelaw.com |
| JD Journal — BigLaw tiers | practitioner | jdjournal.com |
| Attorneys.media — partnership structures | practitioner | attorneys.media |
| Bloomberg Law / Stroock — law-firm collapse | practitioner | news.bloomberglaw.com |
| Law.com — 30 years of firm collapses (timeline) | practitioner | law.com |
| Physician compensation & incentives (two pieces) | practitioner | premierinc.com & related trade press |
| Kruse, Freeman & Blasi, Shared Capitalism at Work (book) | book | nber.org — Univ. of Chicago Press |
Full research manifest with the free-source landing page each paper was captured from: literature-manifest.md (24 full-text PDFs · 28 markdown · 0 failed). Where a study-notes summary stood in for a paywalled classic, the link above points to the original published work; the notes themselves are trade/study material and are not rehosted.
Why link-out, not rehost. Part 1 is public-domain U.S. law (statutes, CFR, SEC orders) — hosting the text is fair and keeps the authority chain inspectable. Part 2 is copyrighted scholarship and trade press hosted by publishers; the correct artifact is a citation plus an outbound link to the original source. Retrieval dates are UNKNOWN rather than fabricated.