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How to Buy the Share

Author
Affiliation

Mike P. Sinn

International Campaign to End War and Disease

Keywords

brokerage, shareholder, buying stock, defense contractors, filing a lawsuit

You need to own at least one share of the defendant before you can send the demand letter. One share is legally sufficient under DGCL § 327. This page is for readers who have never bought stock. Total time: 15-60 minutes including account creation.

What You Need Before Starting

  1. Government-issued photo ID (driver’s license or passport).
  2. Social Security Number (US) or equivalent national tax ID.
  3. A bank account you can link.
  4. Around $200-$600 to spend on one share.
  5. A computer or phone with internet.

Pick a Brokerage

Use Fidelity or Charles Schwab. Both have $0 minimums, no commissions, and stable apps. Avoid crypto-only platforms (Coinbase, Kraken) and CFD platforms (eToro); they don’t give you actual share ownership and won’t establish legal standing.

Step-by-Step: Fidelity

(The flow is similar across all major brokerages. Fidelity is used here as a concrete example.)

1. Open the account (~15 minutes)

  1. Go to fidelity.com and click “Open an Account”.
  2. Select “Individual Brokerage Account” (not retirement, not joint, unless you have a reason).
  3. Fill in personal information: full legal name, address, date of birth, SSN, employment info.
  4. Answer suitability questions (“investment experience: beginner”, “investment objective: capital appreciation”, “risk tolerance: medium”). Honest answers are fine.
  5. Read and electronically sign the account agreement.
  6. You will receive an account number immediately.

3. Buy the share (~5 minutes once cash settles)

  1. Go to “Trade” in the top menu.
  2. Enter the ticker symbol of the target contractor. The 8 tickers from the target reference table:
    • LMT (Lockheed Martin)
    • RTX (RTX Corporation, formerly Raytheon)
    • BA (Boeing)
    • GD (General Dynamics)
    • NOC (Northrop Grumman)
    • LHX (L3Harris Technologies)
    • HII (Huntington Ingalls Industries)
    • LDOS (Leidos Holdings)
  3. Set Action: BUY.
  4. Set Quantity: 1 share (or more, see below).
  5. Set Order Type: Market (executes immediately at the current price). Limit orders are also fine but unnecessary for a one-share order.
  6. Set Time in Force: Day.
  7. Review and submit.

Confirmation appears on screen within seconds. You now own one share.

4. Confirm settlement (~2 business days)

The trade executes immediately but the shares “settle” 2 business days later (T+2). Once shares are settled:

  • The shares appear in your account holdings.
  • You can request a trade confirmation document showing the purchase date, share count, and price.
  • You are officially a shareholder of record for the purposes of the demand letter.

Do not mail the demand letter before settlement. A defendant board can challenge standing if the shares were not yet legally owned at the time of the alleged wrong (here, the lobbying expenditure). Wait the 2 business days.

How Many Shares

1 whole share for the demand letter and derivative action. $25,000 worth held for at least 1 year if you also want to file a Rule 14a-8 proposal. For a coordinated 8-defendant filing, 1 share each (~$2,400 total).

Direct Registration (DRS)

Optional. Street-name shares are fine; direct-register only if counsel advises it after a standing challenge.

How to Hold the Shares

Do not sell during the lawsuit. Continuous ownership is required under DGCL § 327; selling moots the suit. Disable any automatic dividend reinvestment that might convert shares.

Tax

Buying has no immediate tax consequence. Selling later triggers capital gains; consult an accountant.

What to Save for the Demand Letter

After purchase, save the following for your records and for inclusion in the demand letter package:

  1. Trade confirmation document (PDF from brokerage) showing buy date, share count, price, and account number.
  2. Most recent account statement showing the share is held in your account.
  3. DRS certificate (if you direct-registered) from the transfer agent.

These attach to the demand letter to establish standing. Counsel will tell you what additional documentation is needed.

What If You Don’t Have $200

See funding-and-coordination.qmd. Default: borrow it from one person.

Order of Operations

Day 1:    Open brokerage account (15 min)
Day 1:    Link bank account (10 min, or up to 3 days for ACH verification)
Day 1-3:  Transfer cash from bank to brokerage (ACH settlement)
Day 4:    Buy 1 share (5 min)
Day 4-6:  Wait for trade settlement (T+2 business days)
Day 6:    Save trade confirmation; you are now a shareholder of record
Day 7+:   Proceed with the [filing-day checklist](filing-day-checklist.qmd)

Total elapsed time from “I’ve never bought stock” to “I am a defense-contractor shareholder ready to file”: ~1 week.

The single share has done its work. The math is now legally yours to send to the Board.