Ineligibility stuff... (Score 1)

I'm sure somebody has mentioned this:
The "Oracle" is not E*Trade (nor RedHat).
It has something to do with SEC/NASD or so
I've been told.

I think what E*Trade did screw up was in not
providing clearly definitions for the questions.

In particular such questions like:
"What do you feel your overall expertise at
trading is?" Excellent? Good? Fair? Poor?
That is highly suggestive. Compared to just
about everybody else where I work I'm a genius
at investing. But compared to Tom and Dave
Gardner, Alan Greenspan or Peter Lynch I pretty
much suck.

E*Trade should have a *very* easy to find,
must-read FAQ on exactly what the questions
mean. As in definitions for what "Good
experience" is.

And for those out I would recommend placing
your indication of interest directly through
a human broker at E*Trade. I did and he
cleared up several points such as that.

For one: "What is the amount of liquid assets
you own?" Silly me: I thought "liquid" meant
"cash" or anything that you can directly write
a check against without incurring debt. Well
I've I'ld have answered that I'ld have killed
myself. I don't keep more than a couple
thousand in such accounts (checking mostly).
But what "liquid" really means is: "Cash or
*anything* that can quickly and easily be
converted to cash." This includes any mutual
funds you may have, stock securities, checking,
savings... Basically it turns out to be my
entire portfolio minus my house, automobiles
and IRA/401Ks.

If you don't have a large amount of liquid
worth then the SEC will mark you ineligible
because you cannot afford the high risk of
IPOs. If it were to go very badly for you it
would wipe out just about everything you own
except the roof over your head.

I know it sucks, I really do. I learned these
lessons the hard way before. I encourage anybody
who went through this to write a simple letter
to E*Trade asking them to make available much
clearer documentation on the IPO process and
questions.