more on "B"

[marlinls]

i received a letter from Wells Fargo shareholder services

they say to send the "B" shares to them

i want to know if it is a legit letter.

never know who to trust anymore

[twacowfca]

i received a letter from Wells Fargo shareholder services

they say to send the "B" shares to them

i want to know if it is a legit letter.

never know who to trust anymore

 

Sounds fishy.  Your broker should receive new shares automatically in most cases.  Suggest you contact your  broker through a means you know is secure, in person or by phone, not by clicking on a link or responding to a phone number on the message sent to you.

[woodstove]

I think it is legit.  For B shares held in certificate form.  I got such a letter also.  Bit of a nuisance, but probably wise to exchange for new certificates. The other way would be, I suppose, to deliver old certificates to brokerage to be placed in account.  But then have to risk having them loaned out etc.  If purpose of holding shares in certificate form is to have some assets outside the brokerage industry, then would be re-incurring agency risk.

[Pablo12345]

I thought one of the items voted on at the recent Berkshire meeting was to do away with paper certificates for B shares.

[nodnub]

I thought one of the items voted on at the recent Berkshire meeting was to do away with paper certificates for B shares.

 

I don't think so.  I think there was an item about reducing the number of annual meeting credentials received by each B shareholder.

 

[nodnub]

I appear to be wrong on the first count.

 

Eliminating paper cert for B Shares.

 

http://jeffmatthewsisnotmakingthisup.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html

 

[nodnub]

found some more information here: http://ble.org/pr/news/pf_headline.asp?id=28987

 

Marlin, This may answer your original question.

 

What's this about no more paper Class B stock certificates?

 

Most shareholders already hold their Class B shares in “book entry” form — an electronic record — with their stockbrokers or by Wells Fargo Shareowner Services, which is the agent for Berkshire in the railroad purchase. Each book entry Class B share would become 50 shares automatically when the split takes effect.

 

Shareholders whose stock is all in book entry form don't need to do anything. Shareholders can keep paper stock certificates, but it makes sense to send them to their brokers or to the Wells Fargo office to become book entries. Wells Fargo will send letters to shareholders who don't submit their shares, urging them to send in the certificates.

 

Shareholders should NOT destroy their old Class B certificates or try to return them to Berkshire.

 

Book entry shares are less likely to be lost or stolen, and it's cheaper for Berkshire to manage them. Shares owned by someone who can't be reached could be signed over to the unclaimed property authority in the state where the person lived, after a process that takes two or more years.