Expert: Harry Hayfield - 7/16/2007

Question
Hello,

I would like to know how can I find out if a banking and investment company is legitimate. I am concerned with www.associatescapital.net. It says they have assets of over $200 million, but I cannot seem to find anything anywhere about them other than two articles I have uncovered. They are based in the USA, but they may have affiliations elsewhere too. Here is an article you can take a look at. The name of the COO is mentioned in the article.

http://www.sanepr.com/Stock-offering-news-Associates-Capital-Pre-sale-shareholde...

The CEO is someone named Jeff Gustafason (sp) who is a reverse merger expert.

I have certainly tried to get information and have tried to contact them via their website, but no responses.

Thanks.

Answer
If you are unsure about a company's viability prior to market, the best people to contact would be the people who are overseeing the sale (usually Goldman or Merill). They should have to send you a prospectus which will lay out the profit forecasts for the next five years.