How Direct Investing works

• Many companies allow you to buy their shares directly, without using a broker. These Direct Investment Plans, also known as Dividend Reinvestment Plans (or DRIPs) allow you to accumulate whole and fractional shares in your own name. (Brokers hold baskets of shares in “street” name, so the companies never recognize you as a shareholder.)
• Each DRIP company will either administer the plan itself or hire a Transfer Agent to handle both dividend reinvestment and periodic cash purchases by direct investors.
• If you find that a company you like offers a direct investment plan, you can open an account by purchasing a minimum number of shares – usually just one - in your name. You can do this at our site by clicking the "Ready to Enroll" arrow to the right. After you enroll, you can invest cash and have your dividends reinvested to buy more whole and fractional shares of that company whenever you choose.
• Most DRIPs allow you to invest either automatically (by setting up automatic monthly debits from a bank account) or by sending in money on your own schedule.

DirectInvesting.com & The Moneypaper can help!

We can help you find companies: Our extensive database of over 1,000 companies that offer direct investment plans is constantly updated to reflect new plans and plan changes. You can use our search section to find companies online, or you can order our Guide to Direct Investment Plans, handy directory of direct investment companies. The Moneypaper also publishes features about DRIP companies you may want to own. Our database and Guide will also help you to avoid any plans that charge fees (or show you how to minimize their impact on your returns).

We can help you open your direct investment account(s): You can do this online or through a mail-in order form, using our affiliate, the Temper Enrollment Service , which has been enrolling investors in direct investment plans since 1986. Once your account is open, the plan administrator will send you an initial statement showing your account number and share balance. All statements you receive thereafter (following each investment or quarterly dividend reinvestment) will have a tear-off deposit slip that you can mail in with a check to make another investment whenever you choose to do so.