"In a recent private letter ruling, the IRS considered the situation of a company that had a class of preferred stock traded on the over-the-counter bulletin board. The IRS ruled that this stock was not publicly traded because the regulations under Section 401(a)(35) require that the employer security be traded on an exchange registered under Section 6(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or under certain foreign exchanges.... Therefore ... the shares were not treated as 'publicly traded' and the plan was not required to meet the diversification requirements of Section 401(a)(35)."  MORE >>