High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A Qualified Institutional Buyer (or QIB), in law and finance, is a purchaser of securities that is deemed financially sophisticated and is legally recognized by security market regulators to need less protection from issuers than most public investors. Typically, the qualifications for this designation are based on an investor's total assets under management as well as specific legal conditions in the country where the fund is located. Certain private placements of stock and bonds are made available only to Qualified Institutional Buyers to limit regulatory restrictions and public filing requirements. The term "qualified institutional buyer" or "QIB" is defined by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933. A Qualified Institutional Buyer is an investing entity owning and investing large amounts of securities on a discretionary basis. The threshold is defined as ownership of at least $100 million of securities not affiliated with the entity and dependent on the type of entity.