Sir, any idea why these Institutions continue to hold ECMN?
67% of the Float at that.
biz.yahoo.com
Do you think that one of the highlighted areas below is one of the reasons?
eChapman, Inc., formerly known as eChapman.com, Inc., brings together the financial services capabilities of The Chapman Co., Chapman On-Line, Inc., Chapman Capital Management, Inc. and The Chapman Insurance Agency, Inc., while taking advantage of opportunities presented by the growth of the Internet. The Company's Website, eChapman.com, is an interactive online community offering both financial services and a variety of lifestyle, educational and cultural content selected to appeal particularly to the African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic-American, and women market segments. The Company refers to these groups collectively as the Domestic Emerging Markets (DEM) community.
The Company has four indirect operating subsidiaries: The Chapman Co., a full-service securities brokerage and investment banking company that engages in corporate and government finance, retail and institutional brokerage, research and market-making activities and trading; Chapman On-Line, Inc., an on-line brokerage company that engages in retail brokerage; Chapman Capital Management, Inc., a registered investment adviser that acts as financial adviser to separate accounts, a group trust and a family of mutual funds; and The Chapman Insurance Agency Incorporated, an insurance agency with limited operations to date.
In addition to the four operating companies for which eChapman acts as holding company, eChapman is the entity responsible for the operation of the eChapman.com Website.
Securities Brokerage and Investment Banking Services
The Chapman Co. uses the DEM strategy in its business by marketing financial services, primarily investment banking services, to DEM companies. The Company has identified almost 200 DEM companies with which it seeks to establish relationships. The Company's target client with respect to its brokerage and investment banking services are small capitalization companies traded in the over-the-counter market and privately held companies undertaking an initial public offering.
Brokerage Services
The Chapman Co. is registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC and in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and is a member firm of the NASD. The Chapman Co. provides brokerage services to institutional and retail clients.
The Chapman Co. charges commissions to these clients for executing buy and sell orders for securities on national and regional exchanges and in the over-the-counter market. The Chapman Co.'s primary source of revenue for its brokerage business has historically been commissions generated from institutional brokerage. The Chapman Co.'s institutional clients include investment managers, corporate retirement plans, and municipal retirement plan sponsors. The Chapman Co. maintains floor broker relationships on the New York, American and Chicago Stock Exchanges and executes buy and sell orders in the over-the-counter markets.
The Chapman Co. clears all transactions for its brokerage customers on a fully disclosed basis with its clearing agent, which carries and clears all customer securities accounts. The clearing agent may lend funds to its brokerage customers through the use of margin credit. These loans will be made to customers on a secured basis, with the clearing agent maintaining collateral in the form of salable securities, cash or cash equivalents. Under the terms of its agreement with the clearing agent, in the event that customers fail to pay for their purchases, to supply the securities that they have sold, or to repay funds they have borrowed, the Company would be obligated to indemnify the clearing agent for any resulting losses.
The Chapman Co. also participates in fixed income secondary market trading in government securities primarily for fixed income investment managers, municipal treasurers and other investment professionals. This business is done on a competitive basis where The Chapman Co. acts as a broker.
The Chapman Co. is approved to be a registered market maker for the securities of up to five companies at any time, including eChapman.com. During the year ended December 31, 2000, The Chapman Co. only made a market in the securities of eChapman.com.
The Chapman Co.'s trading activities involve the purchase, sale or short sale of securities as a principal, and, accordingly, involve risks of a change in market price of these securities and of a decrease in the liquidity of markets, which can limit the Company's ability to sell securities purchased or to purchase securities sold in such transactions.
Investment Advisory Services
The Company's investment advisory subsidiary, Chapman Capital Management, currently manages two active mutual funds: the DEM Equity Fund and The Chapman U.S. Treasury Money Fund, each a portfolio of The Chapman Funds, Inc., an open-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Chapman Capital Management has formed and manages one private investment trust, the DEM-MET Trust. Chapman Capital Management also advises corporate, institutional and individual investors on a separate account basis.
DEM Equity Fund is a non-diversified portfolio of The Chapman Funds, Inc. The principal investment objective of the DEM Equity Fund is aggressive long-term growth through investment in equity securities of DEM companies.
The Chapman U.S. Treasury Money Fund, also a portfolio of The Chapman Funds, Inc., invests solely in short-term direct obligations of the U.S. Government and repurchase agreements collateralized fully by direct obligations of the U.S. Government. This fund is intended primarily for state and local governments and their authorities and agencies.
Chapman Capital Management also provides investment advisory services to separate accounts under individual investment advisory agreements. Chapman Capital Management manages equity and debt portfolios with varied investment objectives including long-term capital appreciation and current income.
Annuity Products
The Chapman Insurance Agency sells annuity products on an agency basis for insurance underwriters such as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company of North America; however, Chapman Insurance Agency has not had significant operations to date. Chapman Insurance Agency currently offers only variable annuities, which are long-term savings vehicles that contain a separate and a fixed account. The fixed account usually offers various fixed allocations, which are credited with fixed rates of interest for the guaranteed periods selected by the policyholder. Policyholders are able to choose among several available separate account options offered by the insurance underwriter and may transfer monies between the various annuity options on a tax-deferred basis.
The Chapman Insurance Agency sells products on an agency basis only, meaning that it sells insurance products underwritten by other insurance companies. The Chapman Insurance Agency does not underwrite annuities on its own. Annuity products currently enjoy an advantage over certain other retirement savings products because the payment of federal income taxes on interest credited to annuity policies is deferred during the accumulation period. The Company believes that the individual annuity business is a growing segment of the savings and retirement market.
eChapman.com Internet Portal
eChapman seeks to attract the members of the DEM community to its Website by providing lifestyle, educational and cultural, as well as financial services, information with the goal of establishing a dynamic online community. This material is organized around four channels on the Company's Website.
Chapman Network offers: Lifestyle pages providing content about travel, finance, fashion, food, sports, entertainment, health & wellness, and family and parenting issues and featuring presentations by personalities and celebrities appealing to the various segments of the DEM community; International, domestic and business news; and Sports and weather. Chapman Trading offers: online brokerage services; the Company's proprietary fund, the DEM Equity Fund, as well as any future mutual fund offerings; research reports; and toll-free call center for personalized assistance. Chapman Education provides DEM Index performance information and tips on investing. Chapman Marketplace offers links with other Internet merchants that desire access to the DEM community or segments of it.http://yahoo.marketguide.com/MGI/busidesc.asp?target=/stocks/companyinformation/busidesc&Ticker=ECMN |
