Being the Chief Business Development Officer for HFBG is not the same as being a IRP ...
If you are required to make disclosures under Rule 17(b), then you meet iHub's requirements to become an IRP. When and whether you are required by law to disclose is something that should be discussed with your legal counsel.
This is an acronym for an Investor Relations Professional. More information about what qualifies someone as an IRP can be found here
What is an IRP? IRPs are iHub Members considered to be an Investor Relations Professional. IRPs are professional businesspersons providing investor awareness, investor relations, or any other compensated promotional service or activity relating to a publicly traded stock. IRPs may be compensated by either the public company or some other interested party to provide those services, and include persons who are contracted by other IRPs. iHub considers Members who make posts (both public and private) subject to Section 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 to be an IRP. The relevant text of Rule 17(b) is as follows:
It shall be unlawful for any person, by the use of any means or instruments of transportation or communication in interstate commerce or by the use of the mails, to publish, give publicity to, or circulate any notice, circular, advertisement, newspaper, article, letter, investment service, or communication which, though not purporting to offer a security for sale, describes such security for a consideration received or to be received, directly or indirectly, from an issuer, underwriter, or dealer, without fully disclosing the receipt, whether past or prospective, of such consideration and the amount thereof.
IRPs pay a fee as a commercial user of iHub. The base IRP fee is $95 per month per account. This fee is paid in addition to any other base membership or financial content subscription. Activation of an IRP subscription: •Allows their personalized IRP pages to become visible to other users. This allows the IRP to meet their legally mandated disclosure requirements, and to present their professional credentials and associations. •Automatically includes a link to their Disclosure/Disclaimer page on each post. They can choose to omit the link on posts where it is not required. •Enables an icon in the Member's profile indicating their IRP status and leading to their IRP pages. •Provides visibility to iHub users when content is being provided by a compensated poster.
Any registered member can activate and edit their own IRP pages at any time from their My Account screen. Each user's IRP pages will not become visible to other users until they become activated with an initial IRP subscription. Once activated, the IRP Disclosure/Disclaimer and Stocks pages will remain publicly visible. However; there must be an active IRP subscription in force in order for the Member to edit their IRP pages, include the link to their Disclosure/Disclaimer on new posts, and have their "About Me" page remain visible to the public.
The following IRP icons appear in user profiles:
This Member has an active IRP subscription. They can include their Disclosure/Disclaimer link in new posts. All areas of their IRP pages are visible to all users.
This Member has an expired IRP subscription. They cannot include their Disclosure/Disclaimer link in new posts. Only their Disclosure/Disclaimer page is visible to users.
The details of an IRP's compensation should be found on their Disclosure/Disclaimer page. IRPs who choose to maintain their information on another web site can either replicate it on their iHub page or provide a link/disclosure to their site. The link to their off-site Disclosure/Disclaimer page must be on their IRP Disclosure/Disclaimer page; it will no longer be allowed in posts or signatures. Similarly, any content and/or links not specifically pertaining to and required by for disclosure/disclaimer must be on their "About Me" page; it is not permitted on the Disclosure/Disclaimer page. Content of the Disclosure/Disclaimer page cannot be linked to a site competitive with iHub.
IRPs are permitted to place a link to their iHub Disclaimer page in their signature and/or profile only while they have an active IRP subscription. There should be no disclaimers or links to disclaimers of compensation in signatures, profiles or posts (at the time of posting) by any one who is not an active IRP. IRPs that allow their status to become inactive must immediately remove disclaimers and links to their disclaimer from their current signature and profile. Individual IRP disclaimer pages will always be visible once an IRP account has been activated. The disclaimer icon optionally included inside of IRP posts are also permanent. Disclaimers in signatures and profiles are not and should not be considered permanent; they can and may be removed/hidden at any time by site Admins and should not be relied upon as a means to make legally required disclaimers.
IRPs also are provided an "About Me" page they can use to describe their IRP business and provide links to their site. They also have the option of maintaining a list of stocks which they represent. A history is maintained of all changes to these pages and is available to all iHub Users. The "About Me" page is only visible to other users when an IRP subscription is active.
While Investors Hub requires all professional members to declare their status, we cannot guarantee that all do. The absence of an IRP Disclosure/Disclaimer should not be construed to indicate the poster is not subject to 17(b) requirements. InvestorsHub does not track promotional activity engaged in by IRPs. Our subscription fees (described above) are for their commercial use of the site and our providing IRPs the ability to include any legally required Disclosures with their posts. InvestorsHub is not party to any agreements IRPs may have with their employers or entities they represent or from whom they receive compensation.
Refer to iHub Member IRPs for a listing of current and former IRPs.
iHub reserves the right to take any action it deems appropriate for Members it believes should declare IRP status but have not done so, including but not limited to suspension/termination of iHub privileges.
ninjaturtle Share Thursday, March 24, 2011 12:44:22 PM Re: Hooka post# 105445 Post # of 105456
Anyone who is directly associated with HFB and is posting here must first register with iHub as an Investor Relations Professional (IRP). Otherwise, that poster will be booted from iHub. Please share your concerns and data with Admin.