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Group: I did not see a specific area to post this so I've posted here. And I may not be asking the question properly so please bear with me. 12/31 fincls/tax return reflects $400k in bank account of entity owned by ESOP. These are funds that were just paid into account and going to be used as loans for business purpose. I recall a discussion some time ago on a similar issue but not sure if there was a complete answer other than "it depends". For valuation purposes, can the appraiser make the statement and assessment that those funds are earmarked and not part of the overall valuation? Which will reduce the overall value. Also, I apologize that this is off topic, but I've recently had a contractor I worked with leave the profession and am looking for a project-based individual with experience in ERISA/ESOP related valuations and research. I am trying the Benefits Link job posting for the first time and thought I'd add my request here. Thoughts and comments appreciated.

My former employer has a pooled 401k account which issues an annual statement in early Spring. I retired at end of last year and had planned to rollover my money into an IRA in January but discovered that I could not request a distribution until the annual statements were issued. By the time I was allowed to request the distribution the market had tanked and my request was denied. Now I'm told that the company will be doing an interim valuation for all participant accounts including mine. Is this legit?

There will be a significant number of retirees from the company our company in the next year. The company has a significant amount of Cash on the balance sheet that might not all be included in the valuation. The Company and trustee are unwilling to let anyone else review the valuation report. Is there anyway to dispute the valuation on the basis it is too low? The ESOP owns over 70% of the company, but the CEO and CFO seem to be hiding the cash until after the current round of retirements.

I am a FA and I was referred to clients of a CPA. These individuals own multiple business entities, primarily in real estate. The only EEs of all companies are the owners (parents, 60's) and their two children (30's), also owners. Ignoring control group/affiliate service for the purpose of this thread, they are interested in starting a CB or Combo plan for the purpose of defraying taxes and purchasing Real Estate. They have no interest in investing in "traditional" securities or any other assets other than RE. Aside from the the usual issues related to owning RE in a retirment plan (PTs related to income/expense flow, management, can't "contribute" RE assets, etc etc) I have a few concerns because I have never had a client with an interest in investing solely in RE in a QRP. First, I am concerned that it would, at a minimum, violate ERISA's "duty to diversify". Second, I am concerned that the IRS will view this unfavorably by default. Third, I believe that legal issues, valuation issues and related expenses may outweigh the benefits. Fourth, I am not aware of any trustees and/or custodians, apart from SD-IRA's and some uni-k's, that work with this. Has anyone else had or heard of a situation like this? Is there something else that I should also be concerned with? I will undoubtedly be reaching out this week to local TPAs and ERISA attorneys I have worked with in the past, but I am interested in some feedback from the community. Thank in advance for your responses.