Understanding and Evaluating Prospectuses, Offering Documents, and Proxy Statements

Nearly every day, an individual investor will approach his or her financial adviser for advice on a nontraditional "deal," delivering a prospectus, proxy statement, offering memorandum, or even term sheets. The advisers unenviable task is to sift through these massive documents to get the facts: which parties are taking which risks and receiving which benefits. Many times, these are not polished IPO prospectuses offered through brokers, but are more obscure investments that might contain contractual preferences for promoters, insiders, agents, or lenders. Such preferences can adversely affect the returns to an investor, even if the venture is wildly successful. This book is a reference tool designed to assist financial planners, financial consultants, licensed brokers, accountants, tax and estate attorneys, and other financial advisers in evaluating nontraditional investment materials, versus more traditional texts that are aimed at aiding professionals in drafting investment materials. It is also a valuable guide for investors themselves, who are seeking to enhance their portfolios by investing in nontraditional "deals," either private or public.