Who can invest in hedge funds?
Accredited investors (people with over $200,000 in income or $1 million in net worth outside their home, and certain professionals) and institutions such as pension funds, endowments, insurers and family offices. Many funds also require investors to be qualified purchasers.
The limits come from how hedge funds avoid registering as investment companies. A fund relying on one exemption may have no more than 100 investors, all accredited; a fund relying on the other may have more, but only qualified purchasers, generally people with $5 million or more in investments.