David Lerner & Apple Reed Hosting Golf Club Seminar

Anyone attending this meeting at the Grassy Hills Country Club in Milford should read the following NASD letter regarding these companies. Please use caution in dealing with David Lerner.

NASD Fines David Lerner Associates $115,000 For Misleading Advertising and Communications With The Public

Washington, DC — NASD today announced that it has fined David Lerner Associates, Inc. (DLA) of Syosset, New York $115,000 for misleading marketing materials - including radio advertising, client seminars and other communications with the public. The firm was also ordered not to conduct any public seminar for 30 days. For six months, the firm must pre-file all sales literature and advertisements with NASD's Advertising Regulation Department at least 10 days prior to their first use.

Also sanctioned in today's action were David Lerner, the firm's President; John Dempsey, the firm's Senior Vice President of Sales, and SSH Securities, Inc., an affiliate of DLA. Lerner and Dempsey are each being fined $25,000. Dempsey is being suspended from serving in a principal or supervisory capacity with any registered firm for 30 days. SSH Securities, Inc. will pay a fine of $10,000 for preparing inaccurate fact sheets distributed by DLA to promote a proprietary family of mutual funds.

"To protect investors, and to help them make the best and most appropriate investment decisions, NASD rules require firms to use accurate, fair and balanced communications when marketing their products and services," said Barry Goldsmith, NASD Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement. "David Lerner Associates violated those rules by making statements that investors would naturally be expected to rely upon, that were widely disseminated through the media, but which were exaggerated, misleading and unsupported by the facts."

In a September 2004 complaint, NASD charged the firm and David Lerner with using 11 radio advertisements and other communications between May 2001 and May 2003 that contained numerous statements and claims that were misleading, exaggerated or unwarranted. The firm advertised heavily on New York metropolitan area radio stations with 60-second spots that ran several days a week, frequently throughout the day. DLA spent significant amounts of money on radio ads -- $2.3 million during the review period, which represented 71 percent of its total marketing expenditures. As the spokesman for the firm, David Lerner narrated all of the ads.

A recurring theme of the radio advertisements was the concept of "providing returns of 10 percent and more" to "tens of thousands" of customers. For example, one advertisement stated: "For 25 years, we at David Lerner Associates have provided tens of thousands of people with investments that, even in these turbulent times, continue to pay over 10%." Another stated: "We are currently providing returns of 10 percent and more in investments that have nothing to do with the stock market." NASD charged that these and other statements, which the firm could not support, were exaggerated, unwarranted or misleading.

The firm's advertisements also suggested that individuals who invested with DLA would retain the value of their assets regardless of market conditions, or would regain prior losses sustained in the stock market downturn in 2000. For instance, one advertisement stated, "While past performance can never be a guarantee of future results, we at David Lerner Associates are proud and pleased that for 26 years, tens of thousands of our investors have been receiving high income and solid returns regardless of whether interest rates or the stock market went up or down." Another advertisement stated, "By counseling them to select value-oriented investments, our clients have not only weathered the financial storm, they have actually seen their income grow and their assets more than hold their value." NASD alleged that these and other statements were exaggerated or misleading and were improperly promissory.

Like radio advertising, investment seminars were also important to the firm's marketing efforts. During the relevant period, the firm conducted approximately 70 to 80 seminars for the public, with Lerner appearing as the principal speaker at each seminar. As with the radio ads, the firm did not have factual support for many of the claims and also failed to disclose material information.

Finally, SSH Securities prepared and DLA distributed fact sheets concerning DLA's proprietary Spirit of America mutual funds, which NASD charged contained inaccurate information. NASD charged Dempsey, the principal of DLA responsible for approving advertisements, with failing to discharge his supervisory responsibilities.

Without admitting or denying the allegations, the firms and individuals consented to NASD's findings of advertising and supervisory failures and agreed to the imposed sanctions.

Investors can obtain more information about, and the disciplinary record of, any NASD-registered broker or brokerage firm by using NASD's BrokerCheck. NASD makes BrokerCheck available at no charge to the public. In 2004, members of the public used this service to conduct more than 3.8 million searches for existing brokers or firms and requested more than 190,000 reports in cases where disclosable information existed on a broker or firm. Investors can link directly to BrokerCheck at www.nasdbrokercheck.com. Investors can also access this service by calling (800) 289-9999.

NASD is the leading private-sector provider of financial regulatory services, dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services. NASD touches virtually every aspect of the securities business - from registering and educating all industry participants, to examining securities firms, enforcing both NASD rules and the federal securities laws, and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and member firms. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.nasd.com

"Keep The Change You Filthy Animals" Exposing Bank Of America.

With all the uncertainty in today's economy, I decided I needed a lower risk investment. So, I went with a traditional savings account at Bank of America. The interest rate is less than 1 percent but I figured that was better than losing 50% in the stock market. The sales rep in my local BOA branch convinced me to sign up for their "keep the change" program. She also threw in what is called "overdraft protection." I figured I was covered against all their fees, since I had several thousand dollars available in savings and never purchased anything more than a couple hundred dollars with my debit card. Boy was I wrong.

For those of you who don't know, the BOA "Keep the Change" with "Overdraft Protection" program rounds up all your debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and places that "change" into your savings account. So, if you purchase something at Dunkin Donuts for lets say $5.32, BOA will charge your checking account $6.00 and send the $0.68 from checking to your savings account. And if you exceed the available funds in checking, BOA will transfer $100 from savings back to checking, ie "overdraft protection." Sound pretty worry free doesn't it?

However, what they don't tell you when you give them your money is that there is a $10 fee for everytime they "protect" you from overdrafts. That is a 10% service fee on YOUR $100 that they take from YOUR Savings account and put into YOUR checking account. Its a computer program that plays with your money and than charges you fees. The best part is that the only reason you might need money transfered back from savings back into checking is because of their "Keep the Change" program, which could leave your checking account less than $1.00 overdrawn.

I SAY to BANK OF AMERICA, YOU "KEEP THE CHANGE, YOU FILTHY ANIMALS!!!"

Other Fees I was charged:
1.) Excessive ATM Use Fee. Using the ATM more than 3 times in one month. Yes, to access my money in a BOA account, at a BOA ATM, I was charged $3.00 for each ATM withdrawal after the third one in a calender month, regardless of the dollar amount. However, in their own terms, I have unlimited ATM withdrawals if my balance exceeds $2,500, which it did the entire month, with the exception of 1 day. When I called to complain, I was basically told that there was nothing they could do.

2.) Monthly Maintenance Fee. If you are wondering why I just refrained from signing up for the "Keep the Change" program, which I describe above. Believe me, I tried. However, if you have a savings account with BOA and you do not participate in the program, you are charged a $3.00 monthly maintenance fee, every month, regardless of account activity.

3.) Using a non-BOA ATM. We are all familiar with this one. I made this mistake and paid upwards of $10 by the time BOA and the bank whose ATM I made the mistake of using was done with me.

My advice . . . Tell those filthy animals at BOA to keep their "Keep the Change" program.
Since fees far exceed the interest gained by keeping your money in a bank, just start keeping your money at home in a safe. There is no interest but there are no fees, what you put in it will be there until you take it out. To pay your bills, pay cash in person, or just keep the minimum you need in a checking account to pay your bills or simply use money orders from the post office. Forget these banks and their predatory fees. Life is better without fees, electronic funds transfers, and the other nonsense that we think makes life easier.