Fund Closed

[BitcoinMint.US]

Listing: *Silver Holdings Investment Fund (SLV)
Current Holdings: 100 shares of NYSE:SLV
Financials: Google Docs Spreadsheet

[1714823694]

1714823694

[1714823694]

1714823694

[GimmeDemBitz]

https://i.imgur.com/seLC4.png

Please explain... this.

How exactly did you liquidate estimated value in order to create a dividend, which you then have listed in your cash on hand AND cost rows.  Did you know Enron did something similar?

How do you even have an estimated value of almost $11,000 when your total holdings are $321.50 on 9/23?  Is there an unrealized gain you're not accounting for?  Or is it 321 ounces of silver?

I'm guessing you sold your silver holdings, but there's no increase in cash on hand.  Unless selling the 321 oz of silver gained $7781.  But then there's no accounting for that $3000, unless silver lost ~30% of its value overnight.

You know that 4% is considered a high yielding stock dividend?  What are you basing 12,000% on?  One day of market activity?

Do you actually know how accounting works?

[Bitcoin Swami]

Me very confused.

[BitcoinMint.US]

How do you even have an estimated value of almost $11,000 when your total holdings are $321.50 on 9/23?  Is there an unrealized gain you're not accounting for?  Or is it 321 ounces of silver?

The total holdings were not $321.50.  That was the number of ounces held by the fund (see: no dollar sign).

I'm guessing you sold your silver holdings, but there's no increase in cash on hand.  Unless selling the 321 oz of silver gained $7781.  But then there's no accounting for that $3000, unless silver lost ~30% of its value overnight.

The fund exchanged ownership.  The $3,000 is accounted for in the "Other Holdings" that show the fund is now holding 100 shares of SLV on the NYSE in a private account estimated at the current price of $30.00/share.  The remaining $7,931 has already been paid back to shareholders.  This morning, 0.14147333BTC was distributed to each shareholder and a mining contract was purchased that will fund their dividend.

You know that 4% is considered a high yielding stock dividend?  What are you basing 12,000% on?  One day of market activity?

Do you actually know how accounting works?

Stocks like T, CIM, O, SJT are what I would consider high yielding stocks.  The 12,000% was based on the number of shares outstanding at the time (this number will and has risen due to investor demand) and the annual dividend rate that they will be paid (excluding the 1-time payout they received this morning).  This is all shown on the spreadsheet and you can use the estimated 0.05BTC daily payout and the charts to determine what the current rate would be if you purchased more of the available common shares.  Please let me know if you have any further questions.

I have updated the numbers based on the current outstanding share count and low ask order as of this post.  The dividend yield is now estimated at 127% and I will work on implementing a more easily understood method of accounting.  Investors should do their due dillegence before investing and realize they are buying shares in a silver ETF and not a get rich quick ponzi scheme.

[GimmeDemBitz]

So you've sold all your actual silver in order to buy shares of a silver ETF on the NYSE and the cash difference is going to a 'dividend' to pay investors?

So you've reduced your capital holdings in order to pay investors, and still haven't turned a profit?

[BitcoinMint.US]

So you've reduced your capital holdings in order to pay investors, and still haven't turned a profit?

I purchased the fund on 9/24/11 at what I felt was an attractive price.  No, I haven't turned a profit.  My shareholders and I will need a rise in the price of silver for that to happen.

[GimmeDemBitz]

So you've reduced your capital holdings in order to pay investors, and still haven't turned a profit?

I purchased the fund on 9/24/11 at what I felt was an attractive price.  No, I haven't turned a profit.  My shareholders and I will need a rise in the price of silver for that to happen.

Oh boy.  Silver is down 13% today, and 24% for the month.  UP UP UP!

[TECSHARE]

Do you offer physical delivery on investments?

[BitcoinMint.US]

Do you offer physical delivery on investments?

I would prefer you buy silver from my website. This fund holds shares of NYSE:SLV and physical trades at a premium.

[BitcoinMint.US]

Due to motion 40 passing yesterday (46-0), the dividend payout program has begun with the first payout coming this morning.  From the inception of this fund and including the special dividend, shareholders have now received 0.14268545BTC per share in dividend payouts.  As of this posting, the estimated annual dividend is now 99% based on the current per share price listed on the GLBSE (0.06BTC).

[Bitcoin Swami]

Due to motion 40 passing yesterday (46-0), the dividend payout program has begun with the first payout coming this morning.  From the inception of this fund and including the special dividend, shareholders have now received 0.14268545BTC per share in dividend payouts.  As of this posting, the estimated annual dividend is now 99% based on the current per share price listed on the GLBSE (0.06BTC).

wow .. missed out on that one.

[BitcoinMint.US]

The 3Q 2011 numbers have been posted.

[brendio]

Just wondering whether you could clarify where the funds for the dividends come from. My silver coin collection doesn't pay me dividends, so I find it odd that your fund does.

[BitcoinMint.US]

Just wondering whether you could clarify where the funds for the dividends come from. My silver coin collection doesn't pay me dividends, so I find it odd that your fund does.

My quote below might help clarify the dividends for you.

The fund exchanged ownership.  The $3,000 is accounted for in the "Other Holdings" that show the fund is now holding 100 shares of SLV on the NYSE in a private account estimated at the current price of $30.00/share.  The remaining $7,931 has already been paid back to shareholders.  This morning, 0.14147333BTC was distributed to each shareholder and a mining contract was purchased that will fund their dividend.

The purchased mining contract mentioned above will run through the end of the year and funds the daily dividends.

[shakaru]

mining contract from where ?

Not from me.

[BitcoinMint.US]

mining contract from where ?

The mining contract was part of the deal I accepted when taking over this fund.  It is being provided by the original owner of the fund who wished to remain anonymous.

Please don't invest in this fund solely based on the dividend.  It is going to be discontinued at the end of the year and was only put in place to reward the original investors of the fund that bought shares prior to me taking it over.  At some point in the future I may consider adding shares of silver miners to the fund in order to generate an ongoing dividend, but for now I advise dividend investors to steer clear of this fund.


UPDATE: Dividends will now be paid weekly instead of daily.

[senbonzakura]

can you update the SLV contract in glbse ?

any update on SLV ?

[BitcoinMint.US]

There hasn't been much to update.  The weekly dividend has been paid to shareholders. 

I've tried contacting Nefario to have the contract updated to reflect the new ownership.  After I provided my information, I lost contact with him.  If you have any suggestions, let me know.

[senbonzakura]

have you tried contacting him through glbse forum ?

[BitcoinMint.US]

have you tried contacting him through glbse forum ?

I was emailing back and forth with him.  I have tried through the GLBSE forum as well.  I'm hoping he responds to one of my emails at some point.

[BitcoinMint.US]

Unfortunately, I have a sad announcement to make.  After numerous attempts to contact nefario have failed, I've decided to close this fund.  I will not be selling any more shares.  This decision is not one that I'd like to make, and if I had it my way, I would not be ending this (what I now consider to be) failed experiment.  I have no exact date for liquidating the fund, but it will be happening sometime before the end of this year.

The main reason I have decided to close this fund is due to the contract never being updated once I took over ownership.  After several emails back and forth with nefario, I provided him with my identification and all other information he requested, and never received a response.  I provided a new contract and no response.  I worry that running a fund using an outdated and no longer accurate contract opens me up to possible legal issues that I'm not willing to combat.  It's unfortunate that nefario decided to ignore me after receiving my identification documents and even more unfortunate that he was willing to expose me to potential legal issues rather than update the contract to the new terms provided by new ownership.  I purchased this fund with high hopes and was a large investor in the GLBSE.  That doesn't appear to mean much to their management however.  I apologize to all those who had faith in me to run this fund and hope that you can understand that I really did make many attempts to get the contract issue resolved before coming to this decision.  If this angers anyone, I'm sorry.  Know that I am equally frustrated and I can only hope that after the dividends and liquidation, all my investors end up with a profit.

That being said, I am not going to leave my current shareholders holding onto an empty bag.  I will liquidate the fund and will be paying out a final dividend to shareholders once all taxes and fees have been accounted for.

Again, I apologize.  I know this makes me look bad.  I'm a huge supporter of bitcoin and I hope the GLBSE can thrive one day when ownership decides to put in the effort.  I just can't take the risk that a shareholder will buy a large amount of shares by only reading the contract and then becoming angry once they realize what happened when I took the fund over and made some changes.  I just can't afford to take the legal risk.  Good luck to all and I understand that you will be frustrated.  Please at least try to understand my position and know that I am truly sorry.  This was not my intention.