On December 15, 2008, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the application of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BMIS). The court appointed Irving H. Picard, Esq., as Trustee for the liquidation of BMIS and the law firm of Baker & Hostetler LLP as counsel to Mr. Picard.

As SIPC Trustee, Mr. Picard is responsible for processing all claims by customers and other creditors of BMIS. On January 2, 2009, Mr. Picard mailed claim forms to more than 8,000 customers and creditors of BMIS. Claim forms may be downloaded from SIPC’s website (www.sipc.org/cases/sipccasesopen.cfm) or requested by writing to Mr. Picard at the address below.

The deadline for filing a customer claim is March 4, 2009. Customer claims received by the SIPC Trustee after March 4, 2009, but on or before July 2, 2009, will be subject to delayed processing and less favorable terms. Claims received after July 2, 2009, will be disallowed. Claim forms should be submitted by certified mail to Irving H. Picard, Esq., Trustee for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Claims Processing Center, 2100 McKinney Ave., Suite 800, Dallas, TX 75201.

If you would like more information about SIPC’s liquidation of BMIS, please visit the SIPC Trustee’s website (www.madofftrustee.com) or SIPC’s website. General information about SIPC liquidations is also available on the SIPC website.

If you would like to file a complaint with the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, you may use our online complaint form available at www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml, send us an email at oiea@sec.gov or call us at (202) 551-6551.