WR Hambrecht + Co: Offerings:OpenIPO: How It Works

OpenIPO: How It Works

OpenIPO^® is an innovative auction process for distributing stock to individuals and institutions through a more efficient and equitable process. The auction process allows shares of an initial public offering to be allocated in an impartial way. All successful bidders pay the same price per share.

Benefits to Investors

	•	Equal Access – Qualified investors, whether institutions or individuals, have equal access to bid on IPO shares through our OpenIPO auction.

	•	Fair Allocation – Shares are allocated in an impartial way by the auction process. There is no preferential allocation.

	•	More Flexibility – Investors bid for shares at a price they feel represents a fair market value for the company. They can also submit multi-tiered bids, indicating different amounts of interest for shares at different prices.

	•	Equal Treatment – All individual and institutional investors pay the same price per share.

View a to find out how the OpenIPO auction works.

How to participate in an OpenIPO auction

	•	Open an account. Any qualified investor can open an account and place a bid.

	•	Consider your investment objectives.

	•	Review our current offerings and read the prospectus.

	•	Place a bid. Review how to place a bid.

* IMPORTANT: A registration statement has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

No offer to buy the securities can be accepted and no part of the purchase price can be received until the registration statement has become effective, and any such offer may be withdrawn or revoked, without obligation or commitment of any kind, at any time prior to notice of its acceptance given after the effective date.

** This information is neither an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of offers to buy, any InterNotes. Any such offering will be made only by prospectus. Each individual investor must determine whether InterNotes are suitable based on financial situation, investment objectives, and risk tolerance. Internotes represent the unsecured debt of each respective issuer, subject to credit, interest rate, and secondary market risk. There can be no assurance of a trading market, although certain InterNotes dealers currently intend to maintain an active secondary market. Accordingly, InterNotes should generally be held to maturity. InterNotes are not insured by the FDIC or any government agency. In the case of callable InterNotes, a specific issue may be callable at the discretion of the issuer. InterNotes involve investment risks, including possible loss of the principal invested. For information on these risks, click here.