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Disclaimer


Applying for Financing via the ABN Network

By proceeding with the use of this website or with any application for services from A. B. Nicholas, you are stating that you agree without amendment or revision that you have read the following Disclaimer before proceeding with your financing application. Please read carefully and call (202)-379-4744 if you should have any questions or contact us.

A. B. Nicholas LLC (ABN) is a stock loan/credit line referral service. Our clients come to us for reference into a competitive lending program from a licensed, public, U. S.-based brokerage or banking partner with which we have arranged wholesale, very competitive stock loan rates and very client-friendly terms. Our goal is a licensed and safe alternative to the standard expensive, 50%-restricted standard margin loans while still remaining complaint with the relevant securities acts.

ABN is therefore an informal network of top FINRA-member executives who have agreed to provide especially competitive pricing and terms to our referrals. In many cases, our system can save our clients thousands of dollars while putting additional loan cash, up to 95% of a portfolio’s value, in credit or as a loan.

At no time does ABN hold, trade, or broker any securities in any manner; nor does ABN authorize any third party or any agent to provide:

Tax advice of any kind related to ABN programs, unless the ABN agents is licensed to do so
Investment advice, unless the ABN agent is licensed to do so.
Securities buy-sell advice, unless the ABN agent is licensed to do so.
Insurance advice, unless the ABN agent has the required and applicable licenses to do so.
elated support services to clients seeking competitive, no-sale-to-fund, non-transfer-of-title credit lines via licensed U. S. institutions. Specifically ABN directs its clients to major institutional stock loan financing – loans or credit lines collateralized by free-trading, marginable securities like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds — typically offering wholesale rates and specific client-friendly terms that aren’t often available in a normal electronic-brokerage type relationship.

ABN has used its experience and knowledge of our target markets to obtain a specific, customized wholesale credit line with terms offered via one of several fully licensed, fully regulated, U. S.-based lending partners.

All A. B. Nicholas partner advisors are staff employed within major U. S. -based banks/brokerage institutions, in good standing with FINRA, who have agreed to make their lending facility available to our individual clients referred to them. ABN receives absolutely no compensation or remuneration of any kind from any lending institution or brokerage. ABN is paid a commission after delivery of funds to the satisfaction of the client, but is not compensated by any lender and therefore has a primary interest of serving our client borrowers first and foremost.

To repeat: By proceeding with financing via ABN you are stating that you understand that no member of A. B. Nicholas, its staff or agent affiliate force or partner organizations is compensated in any manner by any of our licensed lending institution partners, nor is A. B. Nicholas holding itself out at any time as an employee, broker, or consultant for any of these lending institutions. No ABN agent, furthermore, is empowered or authorized to make any such statement. The goal of our partnerships has solely been to create a more competitive alternative to standard margin loans with the same level of security, to serve our clients.

Neither the staff or agents of A. B. Nicholas physically handle any securities of any kind at any time; nor do they or any associate or agent of ABN have authority to provide any form of advice on the buying or selling of any particular security. unless fully licensed under applicable federal and state law to do so, and who are also in good standing in their state of operations. We offer access to a financing facility that opens a pathway to a better stock-collateralized loan within a licensed facility offering special wholesale rates and the kind of custom terms our clients required, which we packaged into the lending program we call “LeverageLine.”

LeverageLine is NOT a mortgage nor should be treated as such. No real estate acts as collateral for any A. B. Nicholas product, only securities portfolios within and under the purview and management of a fully licensed FINRA-member advisor.

This distance from between our lenders and ABN is intentional as it allows A. B. Nicholas to act objectively at all times in pursuit of the optimum lending terms for our clientele. There is no advantage, financial or otherwise, for A. B. Nicholas, its staff or agents, to route our clients to any particular institution or lender advisor. Our mission is to find the best securities-based financing we can for our clients and nothing more or less.

How Interest is Determined
All standard LeverageLine interest rates are variable rates, based on a discounted “house” rate, an institution-determined figure based on various market indicators that is keyed to the size of the credit line offer, with lower rates for larger lines of credit. To this is added an increment based on 30-day (monthly) LIBOR. (See the 30-day LIBOR rate on any of the major financial sites, including Bloomberg or Bankrate) Until recently, the 30-day LIBOR rate has remained within a relatively small range of variance.

You may also opt for fixed rate financing if you wish. On occasion, we even offer “specials” – extra low fixed rates for our clients. Inquire of your licensed lender advisor if this is of interest. In all cases, discussion of these options should be and will need to be between yourself and your licensed lender advisor and your referred lending institution.

Any activity involving stocks, bonds, or other securities involves at least some degree of risk. Securities-based borrowing is no different. Though historically safe long-term for most modest investors, a stock portfolio line of credit may not be suitable for all investors depending on their circumstances. If the market value of pledged securities declines below the institution’s required levels and your collateral securities are no sufficient. For some lenders, they are ready to accept single-stock collateral; for most of our clients, we prefer that you have sufficient amount ($80,000+) and spread the risk among numerous stocks or other securities, but this matter, as with all other matters related to the content and disposition of your financing, is also entirely between yourself and your licensed lender advisor. As borrower you may need to either pay down your line of credit, restructure/reallocate your holdings into more stable securities (which can involve a sale of some stock), or pledge additional eligible securities in order to maintain your loan. At all times, lenders in our ABN network have been instructed to discuss all options patiently and clearly to develop solutions to falling collateral value that require the least indisposition for the client.

In addition, you understand that loan-to-value rates for your loan or credit line to the risk factors perceived in your portfolio. A portfolio of multiple stocks that include government bonds, for example, will receive a higher LTV than for example a portfolio of one stock.

We ask before you proceed that you agree that you are an accredited investor according to the official definition therein. This standard is not difficult to meet, but we ask all to read and agree prior to proceeding. For more on this status, please see https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/14/what-is-a-qualified-investor.aspx

Although both A. B. Nicholas and each lending partner advisor make maximum effort to ensure only stable, quality securities are accepted as collateral (see our loan requirements) so as to minimize the need to restructure or pay down lines, and every client’s account is monitored closely by their licensed lender advisor at all times, no party related to this financing product can guarantee any specific outcome of any individual security or portfolio of securities. No ABN client should assume that A. B. Nicholas or its lending partners make any such representation. All securities transaction involve some level of risk always.

In the very worst case of a falling portfolio for which you have not cured a deficit in collateral value, nor made any acceptable arrangements for repayment, your lender has the right to compel you to sell enough securities to make themselves as lender whole on any outstanding principal that remains. Although A. B. Nicholas has done as much as possible within its powers to make this scenario rare and unlikely, the fact remains that it is possible when dealing with securities of any kind. As always, the sale of any security may cause a federal or state tax consequence if the basis for your stock (your purchase price) is significantly lower than the selling price.

ABN attests that because of careful assessing of loan-to-value, our referral programs have a very low rate of need to rearrange assets to shore up value over a span of a decade in operation.

For all ABN programs, securities are never sold to fund any stock loan, credit line or any other service. Your loan funds come exclusively and always from the lending institution’s cash reserves only, not from the sale of your securities. In addition, your lending institution never takes ownership of your securities as a precondition to funding. You agree that you understand this when applying.

The Risks of Securities-based Borrowing Can Include:
Market fluctuations that may cause the value of your securities to decline;
A decline in the value of your securities that could require you to restructure/sell/pay down line to resolve;
Adverse tax consequences as a result of selling securities if you should owe capital gains taxes as a result of selling, i.e., if you bought your securities at a price lower than what you will be selling them for.
Further:

  • LeverageLine may not be used to purchase more marginable securities.
  • LeverageLine is not intended to act as a mortgage in any form.
  • A. B. Nicholas and its officers and employees and affiliates are not authorized to provide legal or tax advice of any kind, unless they are licensed in their state to do so. Please consult your licensed tax specialist or legal advisor for any tax or real estate questions pursuant to LeverageLine financing.
  • By making any application via this website for A. B. Nicholas services, therefore, you are agreeing that A. B. Nicholas has not provided any tax advice of any kind, and that you have not taken nor will undertake any tax-based decision based on any wordings or implied information or conclusions stated on this website and attribute any of those decisions, wholly or in part, to A. B. Nicholas; and that you will consult a third-party licensed tax professional, if necessary, prior to making any assumptions regarding LeverageLine securities-based credit lines/stock loans and tax implications.

Licensing
A. B. Nicholas is not a licensed financial planner/advisor, mortgage broker, or stock trader/broker, nor an employee of the licensed lending institutions with which we have partnered. A. B. Nicholas, further, does not hold itself out as such and by proceeding with this financing you are agreeing and understanding in full that A. B. Nicholas and its staff and agents are acting solely in a consulting, qualifying and referring capacity via our own proprietary lending network for purposes of delivering the best possible stock-loan financing to our clients.

All applicants must attest that they have read this Disclaimer on the A. B. Nicholas application form, a secure IP-encoded form, which is time-stamped for verification. You agree that all A. B. Nicholas services are limited solely to referral activities, including client outreach, research, introductory arrangements, sourcing, info on qualifying, and any other support liaison to select licensed lending institutions and advisors who have agreed to create the custom, specific leveraged loan model requested by and tailored to our clients, a product we have termed “LeverageLine” but which in fact applies to any securities-based financing that evolves within the licensed lending institution after ABN has introduced the client to said institution.

Agent Restrictions
Agents of A. B. Nicholas may not receive fees from their own transactions, and therefore may not register as agents for any referral other than for their own financing. Agents may not be paid twice on the same transaction. Agents may not receive fees outside of the ABN fee for any ABN LeverageLine transaction. Any client who is approached to pay a fee outside of ABN’s agreement by any agents is asked to report this to ABN immediately.

Lending Partners
Our lending partners are all major, top-tier, fully licensed “household name” U.S. institutions; that is, well-known, public, regulated brokerages and banking institutions in good standing with FINRA, with audited financials as required of all publicly traded companies and SIPC/FDIC registration in good standing. They are the same brokerages and banks everyday customers use, but we have assembled a network of execs to field our referrals and when portfolios quality, these lenders compete to deliver the lowest interest rates and highest loan-to-value — and other client-friendly features — to our clients. A. B. Nicholas is not affiliated in any other manner with these institutions. 

Individual advisers with whom we work at the lending institution are all licensed in at least one pertinent field — e.g., Certified Financial Planning — in all states where they operate and/or offer their services to our clients, which is to say practically all fifty states for the majority of the partner advisor in our institutional network. For any state for which they might not be licensed, or where licensing has expired, they have agreed not to quote our clients, or in some cases, to obtain licensure prior to serving a client in those states. ALL ABN lender-advisor FINRA records are provided to all applicants.

If any adviser is not registered to provide services in any particular state, that adviser will not be permitted to provide a loan quote or any services to ABN until such licensing is obtained and verified. All advisers are FINRA members with no negative reports or disclosure events and at least 15 years in the industry.

Status: ABN is not itself a lender, nor is it a broker-dealer or financial advisor or a member of FINRA or SIPC (though it works exclusively and solely with financial organizations that are licensed members in good standing of these organizations). ABN acts as a lending referral agency for securities owners, specialized originally for the franchisee and commercial real estate market seeking better, more feature-rich, cheaper but secure securities-based financing. We collectively refer to this program as “LeverageLine.”

By proceeding to use the A. B. Nicholas site, you understand that you are accepting all statements on this page as full disclosure and foregoing the right to claim at any time in the future that ABN has held itself out to be a lender, stock broker, financial advisor, employee of one of our licensed lending institution partners, investment advisor, or tax advisor. Your signature on the application is your verification that you agree with this statement.

FINRA Membership: The phrase “FINRA member” means that the institution or individual is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and is in good standing without any reprimands, disciplinary actions, or otherwise. The FINRA website is located here. Individual institutions and advisors with whom ABN works can be verified on www.finra.org.

Strict Prohibition Against “Nonrecourse Stock Loans.”Our position is that there is no form of nonrecourse stock loan in the market today that does not pose an unacceptable risk to a client investor. We at A. B. Nicholas work exclusively with fully licensed, SIPC/FIDC-member financial firms who are likewise staffed with FINRA-member advisors with appropriate licensing (e.g., Certified Financial Planners, Series Brokers, Registered Investment Advisors) and that offer full disclosure and transparency on every element of our clients’ securities-based financing.

We work only with non-transfer-of-title programs where shares are never sold in order to fund the client’s loan. Clients may be asked to open an account at their lender, but there is no change of asset ownership in that process, only a condition for the loan or credit line. Our loans are full recourse to the securities portfolio (the underlying collateral asset) as any legitimate loan program of any kind is. We offer no other types of lenders or programs; nor do we ever act in any way or at any time as mortgage brokers. LeverageLine is not a mortgage nor, as stated above, can it be used to purchase a primary residence.

A. B. Nicholas Compensation/Fee
ABN is paid a fee for its services by its clients for successfully delivering the LeverageLine lending facility that we have painstaking researched, built, maintained and promised. The requested fee varies but is typically no more than 1.5% of the credit line authorization or loan amount we were able to deliver to the client.. A term sheet is generated and each client agrees by their signature to pay a fee only upon the successful opening of their line as stated. Fees are therefore only due upon successful opening of the client’s line of credit as agreed. Once ABN has delivered as promised, its compensation will be deemed by all parties to have been fairly earned except if the financing as quoted is withdrawn or changed substantially through no fault of the client. By proceeding with your application, you agree that if ABN has fulfilled its role as stated herein, that its fee will have been fairly earned and will be paid.

Impartiality: To reiterate, ABN is not compensated in any manner, at any time, for any reason, by or through any lender or financial firm, directly or indirectly, for any action or lack of action, which includes all of the regulated and licensed SIPC/ FINRA-member firms and their advisors who provide lending services to our clients.

Our company is built upon integrity: our impartiality policy is unbending and firm. The delivery of a particular lending facility, therefore, represents a facility that we honestly and in our best professional estimation believe to be the best offer of its kind; there can be no other reason for the delivery of terms from any of our lending partners.

No Advice by Any Related Party: To reiterate, ABN at no time provides investment, tax, buy-sell, or any other type of financial, investment, insurance, or tax advice. Any mention of taxes or valuations of any securities must not be construed as advice and no client may use such statements as a prelude to any tax or investment decision.

Nothing any ABN agent or staff member says or does should be construed as investment or tax advice, unless they are fully licensed to offer such advice. Please consult only with a licensed advisor in client’s state for information that can be used for decisions in these areas. ABN is a lending network firm that refers you into our network so that you may receive a competitive, better set of terms than your standard brokerage margin loan.

Default on Repayment
For these stock loan & credit lines, a simple lien is placed on the account, and the client may continue to trade in the account as long as the securities’ value remains within lender’s required value ranges as asset-based financing program collateral. Clients must ensure that their collateral stays within the lending institution’s value requirements. These are reasonable and will be explained in full by your licensed lender advisor after you no-obligation application (www.abnicholas.com/quote). The lien is only exercised if the client defaults on obligations and refused to make acceptable arrangements to repay any principal owed. (Note: This is standard for any asset-based loan and not particular to securities-based financing).

No Obligation: No client is required to proceed with any credit line program offered through or by ABN, its staff or associates, even after opening their new account at their lender. We consider the client’s obligation to pay ABN to begin only when a client has opened their credit line and the funds are available. ABN will bill the client at that point or slightly before. The ABN fee is due and payable within one day of the opening of the line after ABN has carried out its task as promised and delivered the like as described.

ABN Rejects:

  • Any private placement lending facility or any facility that takes title to the securities; and/or
  • Any such facility that requires the securities to be transferred or pledged into another’s name or control; and/or
  • Any lending facility that is not licensed and fully regulated; and/or
  • Any advisor with any disciplinary actions currently or in the past; and/or
  • Any facility, company, or individual that sells client securities to fund the credit line wholly or in part; and/or
  • Any form of nonrecourse lending; and/or
  • Any client who seeks to use this funding to avoid the lawful payment of taxes or other federal or state obligations.
  • Any non-U.S. or Canadian securities.
  • No Signatory: A.B. Nicholas is not a signatory to any financing contract for any program offered through this site. Any client proceeding to apply for a LeverageLine accepts and understands this statement without reservation. All financing is by and through a fully licensed partner firm and agent.

Summary: ABN does not manage portfolios, has no contact with client or responsibility for client assets, and has no fiduciary or other interest or responsibility of any kind in/for the management or outcome of any of the securities used in any of the financing programs ABN facilitates. All final decisions regarding financing offered through this site are the sole and exclusive right and responsibility of the client in conjunction with the licensed representative(s) of the licensed lending institution to which the client is referred by ABN, and any other duly licensed advisors the client may choose. By proceeding to use this site you are acknowledging that you understand and accept this , and all other statements in this Disclaimer, without amendment.

All lending responsibilities and activities are therefore exclusively handled through the licensed, FINRA-member lending parties to whom ABN refers its clients and with which ABN has partnered. All clients submitting applications are agreeing that they have read this disclaimer and therefore accept this statement. ABN focuses exclusively on sourcing and referral support services and does not and will not offer any form of securities buy-sell, brokering or tax advice. All clients are urged to consult with a licensed tax or financial planner in their state of residence if they are in need of these ancillary services, although your referred LeverageLine licensed lending institution will have facilities to serve you as well if you wish.

Taxes: Tax treatment of loan or credit line proceeds is the sole responsibility of the borrower and ABN cannot, does not, and will not provide any tax advice at any time. Decisions made regarding the tax treatment of any financing provided by or through ABN, its staff or associates is therefore the sole responsibility of the client borrower in conjunction with their licensed CPA or other licensed legal/financial advisor, notwithstanding any mention of any tax-related issues on the ABN website or in any document. Any statements on any page or document produced by A. B. Nicholas that includes any reference to taxes must therefore be treated only as generalizations and no tax or investment decision should be made from them. Always refer to a valid licensed tax or investment expert prior to making any tax-related decisions.

No title transfer: All accounts used in any funding through the ABN website or personnel are titled solely to the securities owner. Title – which means full legal ownership – does not transfer during the loan term and no shares are sold as a condition to provide funding through any ABN programs. Therefore, unless the client him/herself so chooses to sell securities. or the client has defaulted on his loan obligation and refused to make any repayment arrangements acceptable to the lender, no sale of securities will be compelled.

If the client should default on their loan and make no acceptable repayment arrangements, the lending institution may, by virtue of the loan agreement, compel a sale in order to effect repayment of funds extended to the client.

Client retains the right to sell or trade shares while they secure the LeverageLine provided that the trades are conducted with their licensed lender advisor’s approval as long as they are collateralizing the loan or credit line, and the sales do not diminish the quality or value of the collateral portfolio.

Illegal Use: Credit line funds many not be used for any illegal purpose nor for the repurchase of marginable securities per US FRB regulation for non-purpose credit transactions (SEC 1934). Proceeds of ABN credit lines may therefore not be deposited into any brokerage account directly. Similarly, thought clients may purchase anything they wish with their loan proceeds other than more stocks, LeverageLine is not to bee seen nor treated as a mortgage for a primary residence for tax purposes.

No Mortgage Brokering: ABN is not a mortgage broker and does not hold itself nor engage in any activities of a broker or primary residences or mortgages for real estate of any kind. Any use of loan proceeds for commercial real estate/real estate investment applications is the sole responsibility and prerogative of the borrower.

No Affiliation: ABN is not affiliated with the SIPC, FDIC, SEC, IRS, FINRA, or any of their subsidiaries even if listed or stated on the A. B. Nicholas website.

All visitors to this site are required to read and agree with this Disclaimer before proceeding.

Proceeding within our site, including any form of contact with ABN staff, or any application for any A. B. Nicholas product or service, assumes you have read, understand and accept the above statements. If you do not understand or agree with any of this Disclaimer, please feel free to inquire at [email protected] or to call us at 202.379.4744 before proceeding with any application for financing from A. B. Nicholas.

Do not proceed with this site or with any loan programs listed on this website if you do not understand, accept, AND agree in full with this Disclaimer. If you do not accept and agree with this Disclaimer, ABN asks that you not apply. In that case, please exit to Google here

A. B. Nicholas LLC (ABN) is a stock loan/credit line referral service. Our clients come to us for reference into a competitive lending program from a licensed, public, U. S.-based brokerage or banking partner with which we have arranged wholesale, very competitive stock loan rate quotes on client-friendly terms. Our goal is a licensed and safe alternative to the standard expensive, 50%-restricted standard margin loans while still remaining complaint with the relevant securities acts with the market’s most competitive rates and terms.
.
ABN is therefore a  growing, informal network of top FINRA-member executives who have agreed to provide especially competitive pricing and terms to our referrals. In many cases, our system can save our clients thousands of dollars while putting additional loan cash, up to 95% of a portfolio’s value, in credit or as a loan.

At no time does ABN hold, trade, or broker any securities in any manner; nor does ABN authorize any third party or any agent to provide: 

  • Tax advice of any kind related to ABN programs, unless the ABN agents is licensed to do soInvestment advice, unless the ABN agent is licensed to do so.
  • Securities buy-sell advice, unless the ABN agent is licensed to do so.
  • Insurance advice, unless the ABN agent has the required and applicable licenses to do so.

All A. B. Nicholas lenders and advisors are within major U. S. -based institutions, in good standing with FINRA, and have agreed to make their lending facility available to the individual clients we refer to them, without compensation to ABN the lending institution or anyone associated with the lending institution.

No member of A. B. Nicholas, its staff or agent affiliate force or partner organizations is therefore compensated in any manner by any of our licensed lending institution partners, nor is A. B. Nicholas holding itself out at any time as an employee, broker, or consultant for any of these lending institutions. Our partnerships are solely for the benefit of our clients. We reiterate that no client should proceed with any A. B. Nicholas service if they do not understand and accept these disclosures.

Neither the staff or agents of A. B. Nicholas physically handle any securities of any kind at any time; nor do they provide any form of advice on the buying or selling of any particular security unless fully licensed and in good standing in their state of operations to do so. We offer access to a financing facility that meets the lending needs, we believe, of our franchise, commercial real estate, and business buying clients by opening a pathway to a licensed facility and special wholesale rates with custom terms.

LeverageLine is NOT a mortgage nor should be treated as such. No real estate acts as collateral for any A. B. Nicholas product, only securities portfolios within and under the purview and management of a fully licensed FINRA-member advisor.

This distance between our lenders and ABN is intentional as it allows A. B. Nicholas to act objectively at all times in pursuit of optimal lending terms for our clientele. There is no advantage, financial or otherwise, for A. B. Nicholas, its staff or agents, to route our clients to any particular institution or lender advisor. Our mission is to find the best securities-based financing we can for our clients and nothing more or less.

How Interest is Determined
All standard LeverageLine interest rates are variable rates, based on a discounted “house” rate, an institution-determined figure based on various market indicators that is keyed to the size of the credit line offer, with lower rates for larger lines of credit. To this is added an increment based on 30-day (monthly) LIBOR. (See the 30-day LIBOR rate on any of the major financial sites, including Bloomberg or Bankrate). The lending institution reserves the right to adjust this formula, but as a rule the LIBOR rate is used typically. 

You may also opt for fixed rate financing if you wish. On occasion, we even offer “specials” – extra low fixed rates for our clients. Inquire of your licensed lender advisor if this is of interest.

Is Securities-based Borrowing Right for You?
Any activity involving stocks, bonds, or other securities involves at least some degree of risk. Securities-based borrowing is no different. Though historically safe, a stock portfolio line of credit may not be suitable for all investors. If the market value of pledged securities declines below the institution’s required levels, you as borrower may need to either pay down your line of credit, restructure/reallocate your holdings into more stable securities (which can involve a sale of stock), or pledge additional eligible securities in order to maintain your loan.

Although not required to obtain a line of credit against your stock portfolio, we still do prefer our clients to be qualified or accredited investors if possible. For more on this status, please see https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/02/14/what-is-a-qualified-investor.aspx

Although both A. B. Nicholas and each lending partner advisor make maximum effort to ensure only stable, quality securities are accepted as collateral (see our loan requirements) so as to minimize the need to restructure or pay down lines, and every client’s account is monitored closely by their licensed lender advisor at all times, no party related to this financing product can guarantee any specific outcome of any individual security or portfolio of securities. No ABN client should assume that A. B. Nicholas or its lending partners make any such representation.

In the very worst case of a falling portfolio for which you have not cured a deficit in collateral value, nor made any acceptable arrangements for repayment, your lender has the right to compel you to sell enough securities to make themselves as lender whole on any outstanding principal that remains. Although A. B. Nicholas has done as much as possible within its powers to make this scenario rare and unlikely, the fact remains that it is possible when dealing with securities of any kind. As always, the sale of any security may cause a federal or state tax consequence if the basis for your stock (your purchase price) is significantly lower than the selling price.

However, securities are never sold to fund any A. B. Nicholas product or service. Your loan funds come exclusively and always from the lending institution’s cash resources only, not from the sale of your securities in any manner at any time. In addition, your lending institution does not take title or ownership of your securities as a recondition to funding. You agree that you understand this when applying.

The Risks of Securities-based Borrowing Can Include:

  • Market fluctuations that may cause the value of your securities to decline;
  • A decline in the value of your securities that could require you to restructure/sell/pay down line to resolve;
  • Adverse tax consequences as a result of selling securities if you should owe capital gains taxes as a result of selling, i.e., if you bought your securities at a price lower than what you will be selling them for.

Other Specifics
LeverageLine may not be used to purchase more marginable securities. Nor is it intended to act as a mortgage in any form.

A. B. Nicholas and its officers and employees and affiliates are not authorized to provide legal or tax advice of any kind, unless they are licensed in their state to do so. Please consult your licensed tax specialist or legal advisor for any tax or real estate questions pursuant to LeverageLine financing.

By making any application via this website for A. B. Nicholas services, therefore, you are agreeing that A. B. Nicholas has not provided any tax advice of any kind, and that you have not taken nor will undertake any tax-based decision based on any wordings or implied information or conclusions stated on this website and attribute any of those decisions, wholly or in part, to A. B. Nicholas; and that you will consult a third-party licensed tax professional, if necessary, prior to making any assumptions regarding LeverageLine securities-based credit lines/stock loans and tax implications.

A. B. Nicholas is not a licensed financial planner/advisor, mortgage broker, or stock trader/broker, nor an employee of the licensed lending institutions with which we have partnered. A. B. Nicholas, further, does not hold itself out as such and by proceeding with this financing you are agreeing and understanding in full that A. B. Nicholas and its staff and agents are acting solely in a consulting, qualifying and referring capacity for purposes of delivering this lending to our clients.

All applicants must attest that they have read this Disclaimer on the A. B. Nicholas application form, a secure IP-encoded form, which is time-stamped for verification. You agree that all A. B. Nicholas services are limited solely to client outreach, research, introductory arrangements, sourcing, referral qualifying, and support with select licensed lending institutions and teaming with advisors who have agreed to create the custom, specific leveraged loan model requested by and therefore tailored to our target franchise, business, and commercial real estate clients, a product we have termed “LeverageLine” but in fact applies to any securities-based financing that evolves within the licensed lending institution after ABN has introduced the client to said institution.

If any adviser is not registered to provide services in any particular state, that adviser will not be permitted to provide a loan quote or any services to ABN until such licensing is obtained and verified. All advisers are FINRA members with no negative reports or disclosure events and at least 15 years in the industry.

Status: ABN is not itself a lender, nor is it a broker-dealer or financial advisor or a member of FINRA or SIPC (though it works exclusively and solely with financial organizations that are licensed members in good standing of these organizations). ABN acts as a lending consultant for the franchisee and commercial real estate market only, performing research, gathering qualifications, and creating openings to the feature-rich, tailored wholesale lending program we have requested and which is termed collectively “LeverageLine.”

By proceeding to use the A. B. Nicholas site, you understand that you are accepting all statements on this page as full disclosure and foregoing the right to claim at any time in the future that ABN has held itself out to be a lender, stock broker, financial advisor, employee of one of our licensed lending institution partners, investment advisor, or tax advisor.

FINRA Membership: The phrase “FINRA member” means that the institution or individual is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and is in good standing without any reprimands, disciplinary actions, or otherwise. The FINRA website is located here. Individual institutions and advisors with whom ABN works can be verified on www.finra.org.

Strict opposition to “nonrecourse transfer-of-title stock loans. ”Our position is therefore that there is no form of nonrecourse stock loan in the market today that does not pose an unacceptable risk to a client investor. We at A. B. Nicholas work exclusively with fully licensed, SIPC/FIDC-member financial firms who are likewise staffed with FINRA-member advisors with appropriate licensing (e.g., Certified Financial Planners, Series Brokers, Registered Investment Advisors) and that offer full disclosure and transparency on every element of our clients’ securities-based financing.

We work only with non-transfer-of-title programs where shares are never sold in order to fund the client’s loan. Our loans are full recourse to the securities portfolio (the underlying collateral asset) as any legitimate loan program of any kind is. We offer no other types of lenders or programs; nor do we ever act in any way or at any time as mortgage brokers. LeverageLine is not a mortgage nor, as stated above, can it be used to purchase a primary residence.

ABN is paid a fee for its services by its clients for successfully delivering the LeverageLine lending facility that we have painstaking researched, built, maintained and promised. A term sheet is generated and each client agrees by their signature to pay a fee only upon the successful opening of their line as stated. Fees are therefore only due upon successful opening of the client’s line of credit as agreed, although a discount option, never mandatory, is also offered. Once ABN has delivered as promised, its compensation will be deemed to have been fairly earned except if the financing as quoted is withdrawn or changed substantially through no fault of the client. By proceeding with your application, you agree that if ABN has fulfilled its role as stated herein, that its feel will have been fairly earned.

Impartiality: ABN is not compensated in any manner, at any time, for any reason, by or through any lender or financial firm, directly or indirectly, for any action or lack of action, which includes all of the regulated and licensed SIPC/ FINRA-member firms and their advisors who provide lending services to our clients.

Our company is built upon integrity: our impartiality policy is unbending and firm. The delivery of a particular lending facility, therefore, represents a facility that we honestly and in our best professional estimation believe to be the best offer of its kind; there can be no other reason for the delivery of terms from any of our lending partners.

No Advice by Any Related Party: ABN at no time provides investment, tax, buy-sell, or any other type of financial, investment, insurance, or tax advice. Any mention of taxes or valuations of any securities must not be construed as advice and no client may use such statements as a prelude to any tax or investment decision.

Nothing any ABN agent or staff member says or does should be construed as investment or tax advice; consult only with a licensed advisor in client’s state for information that can be used for decisions in these areas.

Defaults: For these stock loan | credit lines, a simple lien is placed on the account, and the client may continue to trade in the account as long as the securities’ value remains within lender’s required value ranges as asset-based financing program collateral. Clients must ensure that their collateral stays within the lending institution’s value requirements. The lien is only exercised if the client defaults on obligations and makes no acceptable arrangements to repay the amount owed. This is standard for any asset-based loan.

No Obligation: No client is required to proceed with any credit line program offered through or by ABN, its staff or associates, even after opening their new account at their lender. Obligation occurs only when a client has opened their credit line and drawn funds, and that obligation is to repay what has been drawn. The ABN fee is also due and payable within one day of the opening of the line after ABN has carried out its task as promised and delivered the like as described.

ABN Rejects:

Any private placement lending facility or any facility that takes title to the securities; and/or
Any such facility that requires the securities to be transferred or pledged into another’s name or control; and/or
Any lending facility that is not licensed and fully regulated; and/or
Any advisor with any disciplinary actions currently or in the past; and/or
Any facility, company, or individual that sells client securities to fund the credit line wholly or in part; and/or
Any form of nonrecourse lending; and/or
Any client who seeks to use this funding to avoid the lawful payment of taxes or other federal or state obligations.
No Signatory: A.B. Nicholas is not a signatory to any financing contract for any program offered through this site. Any client proceeding to apply for a LeverageLine accepts and understands this statement without reservation. All financing is by and through a fully licensed partner firm and agent.

Summary: ABN does not manage portfolios, has no contact with client or responsibility for client assets, and has no fiduciary or other interest or responsibility of any kind in/for the management or outcome of any of the securities used in any of the financing programs ABN facilitates. All final decisions regarding financing offered through this site are the sole and exclusive right and responsibility of the client in conjunction with the licensed representative(s) of his licensed lending institution and any other duly licensed advisors the client may choose. By proceeding to use this site you are acknowledging that you understand and accept this , and all other statements in this Disclaimer, without amendment.

All lending responsibilities and activities are therefore exclusively handled through the licensed, FINRA-member lending parties to whom ABN refers its clients and with which ABN has partnered. ABN focuses exclusively on sourcing and support services and does not and will not offer any form of securities buy-sell or tax advice. All clients are urged to consult with a licensed tax or financial planner in their state of residence if they are in need of these ancillary services, although your licensed lending institution will have facilities to serve you as well if you wish.

Taxes: Tax treatment of loan or credit line proceeds is the sole responsibility of the borrower and ABN cannot, does not, and will not provide any tax advice at any time. Decisions made regarding the tax treatment of any financing provided by or through ABN, its staff or associates is therefore the sole responsibility of the client borrower in conjunction with their licensed CPA or other licensed legal/financial advisor, notwithstanding any mention of any tax-related issues on the ABN website or in any document. Any statements on any page or document produced by A. B. Nicholas that includes any reference to taxes must therefore be treated only as generalizations and no tax or investment decision should be made from them. Always refer to a valid licensed tax or investment expert prior to making any tax-related decisions.

No title transfer: All accounts used in any funding through the ABN website or personnel are titled solely to the securities owner. Title – which means full legal ownership – does not transfer during the loan term and no shares are sold through any ABN programs to fund any loan offered herein. Therefore, unless the client him/herself so chooses to sell securities or the client has defaulted on his loan obligation and refused to make any repayment arrangements acceptable to the lender, no sale shall occur.

If the client should default on their loan and make no acceptable repayment arrangements, the lending institution may, by virtue of the loan agreement, compel a sale in order to effect repayment of funds extended to the client.

Client retains the right to sell or trade shares while they secure the LeverageLine provided that the trades are conducted via their licensed lender advisor and do not diminish the quality or value of the portfolio.

Illegal Use: Credit line funds many not be used for any illegal purpose nor for the purchase of marginable securities per US FRB regulation for non-purpose credit. Proceeds of ABN credit lines may not be deposited into any brokerage account directly. LeverageLine is not a mortgage for a primary residence and cannot/should not be treated as such.

No Mortgage Brokering: ABN is not a mortgage broker and does not hold itself nor engage in any activities of a broker or primary residences or mortgages for real estate of any kind. Any use of loan proceeds for commercial real estate/real estate investment applications is the sole responsibility of the borrower.

No Affiliation: ABN is not affiliated with the SIPC, FDIC, SEC, IRS, FINRA, or any of their subsidiaries even if listed or stated on the A. B. Nicholas website.

BBB Rating: ABN is rated “A+” by the Better Business Bureau. Please refer to these organizations’ websites for information on their services and programs. A. B. Nicholas does not own any trademarked information belonging to the Better Business Bureau.

All visitors to this site are required to read and agree with this Disclaimer before proceeding.

Attestation:
By proceeding with this our site, including any form of contact with ABN staff, or any application for any A. B. Nicholas product or service, you have are indicating and therefore agreeing that you’ve met the ABN required to read, understand and accept the above statements in this Disclaimer. If you do not understand or agree with any of this Disclaimer, please feel free to inquire at [email protected] or to call us at 202.379.4744 before proceeding with any application for financing from A. B. Nicholas. Your agreement with these terms is required to continue with your application. 

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