Quote from Mainstar’s Letter to Clients

“During a recent review of the Direct Registration System (DRS) process, Mainstar determined we will no longer be able to hold investments in a DRS position due to limitations from the transfer agent regarding communication, reporting and reconciliation of the account.

As of June 20, 2023, Mainstar will no longer process requests to DRS shares of an investment. Any investments currently held in a DRS position will be moved to Mainstar’s Depository Trust Clearing Corp (DTCC) account. This will ensure Mainstar is timely able to trade, settle, and reconcile positions.”

The first post about this with a picture of the letter I was able to find is:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/14pl47h/mainstar_moving_drs_shares_to_dtcc_account/jqim8o2/

While at first this was a trust me bro post, I know several other Mainstar clients personally and can confirm as of this afternoon that they have received the letter as well. Here’s an image supplied by one of them.

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

How many GME shares are affected by Mainstar’s policy change?

1,270,566 shares were held through Mainstar IRA accounts on 4/21/23, per the review of the Stockholder List on 6/5/23.

https://i.imgur.com/5Z6oh1i.png

Has this happened before with other IRA custodians?

Yes. About 1 year ago, Ally invest performed a similar policy change for the IRA accounts which they were custodian for, and DRS shares were moved back to their account with the DTCC.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/s8m4uq/ally_no_longer_allowing_transfers_of_this_nature/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/s8trpt/ally_and_apex_are_about_to_fuck_every_ape_who_has/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

What available recourse is there for shareholders whose shares are now returning to DTCC?

  1. Find another IRA custodian willing to engage with Computershare and direct register on your behalf. HOWEVER - it is always possible that a willing custodian could rescind this option in the future, as shown first by Ally and now by Mainstar.

  2. Cash out of your IRA, taking any tax hit, and buy shares → DRS → book to ensure title ownership.

  3. Open a self managed LLC to become custodian of your own self directed IRA, and then DRS. IRA Financial Trust and Camaplan are two currently known companies that will assist in this process. See this post for more details (skip the now outdated sections on Mainstar): https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/yig3v7/want_to_drs_your_ira_start_here_easy_and/

Self directed IRA guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/w4rpor/how_to_guide_true_selfdirected_irasdira_custodian/

  1. While not an immediate solution, investors can also email GME investor relations ([email protected]) requesting that GME explore the possibility of Computershare serving as an IRA custodian. Although the GME IR team historically has not responded to many outreach emails over the last two years, showing the interest from their investors may make a difference in getting this functionality enabled. It is possible that if they get enough requests it will make a difference.