Points to Ponder

Sigh ... The more I read, the less I know.

I don't "play" the stock market, but a few years back, I was the beneficiary of a whopping 12 shares of stock in a former employer (also my electric power company) that was held in trust by the state because they couldn't find me. That's the good news. Since loading up the truck and moving to Kentucky, I haven't done a decent job of tracking 401K's, IRA's, and other miscellaneous investments.

GET TO THE POINT, Bubba. Ok, I just found a statement that tells me my 12 shares of stock in ENTERGY is now 0.5 shares of stock. A call to the financial administrative firm Mellon Investor Services reveals that in March of this year, the certificates were transferred to Cede & Company. The conversation went something like this:

micsdube = Mellon Investment customer service dude using broken English
Bubba = Bubba

Bubba: Who is this Cede & Company? I don't have no broker!
micsdube: I don't know ... it's the broker that received the transferred certificates
Bubba: Ok, let's pull up the records and see who requested the transfer
micsdube: I'll be glad to put in that request
Bubba: Great! I'll hold.
90 seconds later
micsdube: Mr. Bubba, I've exhausted all available resources and I cannot provide that info.
Bubba: So, when a customer calls and requests a transfer, you have no record of who made the request?
micsdube: Yessir, that seems to be the case.
Bubba: Ok, then pull some account number with lots of shares and lets transfer it to me! I mean, if you have no record, WHO WILL KNOW?
micsdube: Mr. Bubba, I will send you in the mail all the information I have on this transaction.
Bubba: Sir, this is 2003 ... you're telling me that this transaction is not in digital form ANYWHERE?
micsdube: Yes, this Cede & Company, also known as the Depository Trust Corporation, can be reached at the following street address [#include snail mail].
Bubba: Do you have a phone number for these guys?
20 sec pause
micsdube: No, I do not have a number.
Bubba: So you have transferred my stock to a broker I don't know, that appears to have no telephone in its office?
micsdube: Mr. Bubba, I've exhausted all available resources .... ad naseum

congenial end of conversation ..."have a nice weekend"

If you're still with me, it gets better. Did a search for Depository Trust Corporation ... nice web site. Rather boring, but nice. Of course, finding a phone number required my investigative skills ... I did a site search for "phone" and found a customer service number buried in an Adobe file authored by some peon looking for accolades on his latest technical triumph ... sumthin' along the lines of a consolidated, user friendly database. A likely story. Anyway, I called this number (212 area code) and spoke with a friendly person, Tina. I gave Tina the story, but she said I had to give a participant number. Huh? It appears this DTC is a service for brokers only. Cool. She took my info.... even called me back while I was writing this note wanting a bit more info.

Back to Google. It appears this organization is rife with conspiracy theories. And some of these could have valid bases. Have you noticed how in this day and age we rarely hold stock certificates for stock we "own"? From what I can read, we don't own them ... we are merely "beneficiaries." If you've read this far and have an interest see Flemming Funch's page. Follow any search engine and find about 7000 more like this one. Even found the definition of Cede & Co. -> The nominee for Depository Trust Company, the principal central clearing corporation for stock trades.

Just for kicks, here's an example where the City of Shreveport issued bonds thusly:
The Bonds will be issued as fully registered bonds in "book-entry only" form and registered in the name of Cede & Co., as nominee of The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York ("DTC"). DTC will act as securities depository for the Bonds, and purchasers of the Bonds will not receive certificates representing their interest in the Bonds purchased.
What is this firm doing in the video poker business?

It's all downright depressing.

My $600 in stock remains in limbo. Think I'll go home and get some chow.