Washington Mutual Preferred fka WAMPQ

[clawmann]

I posted the following comment to that SA article:
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Why do you call Feb 9 an "Ex Date"? This is not a dividend process. It is a bankruptcy reorg.

As one who is looking to buy after February 9 (after I get confirmation from my broker that I may still submit a ballot for release election purposes for those newly acquired shares), I want to thank you for helping to tank the price I will have to pay (again, assuming my broker says that ballots may be submitted for those newly acquired shares).

An e-mail from TD Ameritrade to its clients holding WAMU securities, which I am certain was cleared/written by TD Ameritrade's lawyers [with my comments in brackets]:

"Dear Valued Client,

According to our records, your TD Ameritrade account ending in XXXX currently holds a position in Washington Mutual. As a result, you may have received a ballot relating to the company's bankruptcy proceeding. We want to provide you with some information that we hope will be helpful.

What you need to know

As part of a bankruptcy proceeding, Washington Mutual, Inc. has developed a joint plan of reorganization. Ballots were sent out to shareholders of record because Washington Mutual is soliciting votes for acceptance of that plan.

In order for your vote to count AND for you to be eligible to receive any distribution that may result from the reorganization, TD Ameritrade must receive your completed and signed ballot by mail on or before February 6. We cannot accept faxes or emails.

[Note the capitalized "AND" in the above; which to my reading clearly signifies that if you want your ballot to count for BOTH voting and release election purposes, it must be received by TD Ameritrade no later than Feb. 6; and this interpretation is reinforced by the next sentence.]

If we receive your ballot between February 7 and February 23, you will be eligible for a distribution, but your vote will not be counted.

[Note that the above says nothing whatsoever about shares purchased after Feb 9 being unable to cast a ballot; if that were true I fully expect that this note from TD Ameritrade would say something about it; and I further would expect that TD Ameritrade would not permit purchases of WAMU securities after Feb 9 because of potential liability concerns].

These dates are earlier than the deadlines listed on the ballot itself. Please follow the dates above and disregard the dates listed on the ballot. The extra time is necessary to allow for processing and tabulation.

Any ballots that we receive after the dates listed above, but before the expiration dates listed on the ballot, will be handled on a best-efforts basis only.

What you need to do:

Please complete and sign your ballot and mail it to:
TD Ameritrade
Attn: Corporate Actions
1005 North Ameritrade Place
Bellevue, NE 68005

Note that once you have submitted your ballot, the instructions you provided on it cannot be withdrawn....."

[THE BOTTOM LINE: CHECK WITH YOUR BROKER'S CORPORATE ACTION/REORG DEPARTMENT ABOUT WHETHER BALLOTS MAY BE SUBMITTED FOR SHARES PURCHASED AFTER FEB 9. DO NOT RELY ON WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THIS ARTICLE OR BY ANYONE ELSE.]