FAQs for Current Investors

1. When will the Partnership be liquidated?
2. What kind of a return can I expect from my investment?
3. Can I liquidate my investment now?
4. When will the next distribution be paid?
5. How do I report my holdings in the Partnership on my tax return?
6. My broker sold me this Technology Funding years ago and I have no idea what it is or how it works. Can you explain it?
7. Why is the value of my investment lower than what I paid for it?
8. How do I change the custodian/trustee on my account?
9. How do I change where my distributions are going?
10. How do I change my account to be held in the name of my trust?
11. How do I change the name on my account? (due to marriage or divorce etc.)

1. When will the Partnership be liquidated?
A. Please refer below to the specific Technology Funding limited partnership in which you have invested for information on its liquidation.

Partners III (P-3) -- A majority of the Limited Partners voted in 1997 to amend the Partnership Agreement and extend the term of the Partnership to December 31, 2000. An extension is not uncommon for venture capital funds since total returns are often determined late in the life of the fund. The General Partners believe the extension to December 31, 2000, will give the Partnership the necessary flexibility to bring its investments to liquidity at optimum values.

Venture Partners IV (VP-4) -- The Partnership is focused primarily on building value in its portfolio and targeting exit strategies for the future. In April 1999, the Management Committee extended the term of the Partnership for two years to December 31, 2001. The General Partners believe this will allow VP-4 the necessary flexibility to bring its investments to liquidity at optimum values.

Venture Partners V (VP-5) -- Although the Partnership is still considering new investment opportunities, the emphasis at this stage of its maturity is on supporting existing portfolio companies with follow-on funding. In order to give the Partnership the flexibility to liquidate its investments at values most beneficial to the Limited Partners, the General Partners in June 1999 extended the term of the Partnership to December 31, 2002.

Venture Capital Fund VI (VC-6) -- The Fund is still in the offering period. Under terms outlined in the prospectus, VC-6 is scheduled to terminate on December 31, 2007. The Directors may extend the term of the Fund for up to two additional two-year periods if they determine that an extension is in the best interests of the shareholders.

Secured Investors I -- The Partnership Agreement provides that the Partnership will continue until December 31, 2004, unless terminated sooner.

Secured Investors II -- The General Partners have extended the term of the Partnership to December 31, 2000.

Secured Investors III -- The General Partners have extended the term of the Partnership to December 31, 2000. Under the terms of the Partnership Agreement, the General Partners have the right to extend the term of the Partnership for an additional two-year period, if necessary.

2. What kind of a return can I expect from my investment?
A. When we talk about returns, it is important to make a distinction between fair value and expected liquidation value. You have probably seen numbers for fair value in your quarterly and annual reports. Consistent with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the Partnerships use fair value to report on their assets at the end of each quarter. This is a very conservative valuation and should not be confused with fair market value or cost basis, although at any given time it may approximate one or the other. Please see the "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" in the Notes to Financial Statements in the Annual Report for a description of how we determine fair value. The expected liquidation value is a number we use internally to reflect what we believe the Partnership's ultimate realized value will be. Although there is certainly no guarantee, we believe that number will, in most cases, be significantly higher than the current fair value. Please refer below to the Technology Funding partnership in which you have invested for current fair value.

Partners III -- At March 31, 1999, the fair value was $305 per $250 unit, exclusive of prior distributions of approximately $77.60 per unit.

Venture Partners IV -- At March 31, 1999, the fair value was $69 per $100 unit, exclusive of prior distributions of approximately $110.46 per unit.

Venture Partners V -- At March 31, 1999, the fair value was $148 per $100 unit. To date, the only distributions of approximately $15.52 per unit were paid from the offering period interest income. Several of VP-5's portfolio companies are expected to realize liquidity within the relatively near term which may result in a distribution of proceeds to Limited Partners.

Medical Partners I - At March 31, 2000, the fair value was $98 per $100 unit. To date, the only distributions of approximately $3.30 per unit were paid from the offering period interest income. Under the terms of the Partnership agreement, the General Partners did not expect that any significant distributions of proceeds would be made in the first four to five years after the close of the offering period in 1995.

Please continue to read the Quarterly and Annual Reports for information on the status of the Partnership in general as well as the status of the portfolio companies.

3. Can I liquidate my investment now?
A. Venture capital is a highly illiquid, long-term investment. The only avenue for early liquidation of your units or shares is through the secondary market. Below is a list of companies that provide matching services and may offer a market in your fund. Because your units or shares are illiquid, offers are usually made at a discount from the fair value.

1. American Partnership Services 800-736-9797
2. Cuyler & Assoc. 800-274-9991 DCC
3. Securities 800-945-0440
4. Frain Asset Management 800-654-6110
5. Fox & Henry 630-325-4445
6. National Partnership Exchange, Inc. 800-356-2739
7. Nationwide Partnership Marketplace 800-969-8996
8. Pacific Partnership Group 800-727-7244
9. Partnership Marketing Co. 707-824-8600
10. Raymond James & Assoc. 800-248-8863
11. 2nd Market Capital Services 800-999-7793
12. Securities Service Network, Inc. 813-923-5836
13. Springhill Financial Services, Inc. 805-943-0950

4. When will the next distribution be paid?
A. Please refer below to the specific Technology Funding limited partnership in which you have invested for information on distributions.

Partners III -- Limited Partners last received a distribution totaling $4 million in June 1997. The Partnership is focused on building value in its current portfolio and targeting exit strategies for the future which could result in additional distributions.

Venture Partners IV -- Limited Partners received distributions totaling $3.5 million in February 1998 and $1.4 million in December 1998. The Partnership is focused on building value in its current portfolio and targeting exit strategies for the future which could result in additional distributions.

Venture Partners V -- There are no distributions planned for the immediate future. However, the Partnership is focused on building value in its current portfolio and targeting exit strategies for the future which could result in a distribution to Limited Partners.

Medical Partners I -- As outlined in the Partnership Agreement, the General Partners did not expect that any significant distributions of proceeds would be made in the first four to five years from the close of the offering period in 1995. The Partnership has focused primarily on building value in its portfolio.

Secured Investors I, II and III -- Distributions are dependent on liquidation events. There are no distributions planned for the immediate future.

5. How do I report my holdings in the Partnership on my tax return?
Click here for answer.

6. My broker sold me this Technology Funding years ago and I have no idea what it is or how it works. Can you explain it?
A.Technology Funding's existing partnerships are Venture Capital Limited Partnerships. These partnerships pooled together money from investors, such as you, and invested that money in start-up companies in various areas of technology.

These companies use the money they raised from venture capital firms including Technology Funding to fund their operations, research, development, marketing, manufacturing, etc. After several years, the companies will either emerge as successful companies or they will fail. Of course, we as investors hope that they will be successful and that we will see a good return for our money.

A return from the company might come in different forms. The company might go public; in which case, we would have public stock in the company. The company might be acquired by another company and thus our interest would be either bought out or we would own shares of the acquiring company. If the company is not successful, we write the investment off. By diversifying our investments in several portfolio companies, we attempt to offset the companies that fail with companies that are successful. Experience tells us that only a handful of companies need provide strong equity returns for a venture portfolio to enjoy significant profits.

7. Why is the value of my investment lower than what I paid for it?
A.In the first several years of a venture capital limited partnership, the expenses of organization, operation, and sales outweigh any income the partnership might generate from short term investing. Until portfolio companies begin to mature and become profitable, the partnership is not able to record any significant gains in the value of its investments. The value of the partnership is expected to be below the original purchase price until the gain in fair value of the investments outweighs the cost of running the partnership over a period of years.

During these initial years, the partnership may make distributions from earnings on short term investments. The value of the partnership is decreased by the per unit amount of the distribution.

8. How do I change the custodian/trustee on my account?
A.To change the custodian or trustee on your account, Technology Funding requires a letter of instruction with your new account information signed and signature guaranteed by both the resigning and accepting custodians. There is no fee for this kind of a change.

To Make Account Modifications click here.

9. How do I change where my distributions are going?
A.To change where Technology Funding sends your distributions, you must submit a letter of instruction that is signed and signature guaranteed by the owner(s) of the units. Please be sure to include the address of the new distribution destination and an account number if applicable. If you have your units in an IRA, the instructions to change distribution information must come from the custodian and must also be signature guaranteed. There is no fee for this kind of a change.

To Make Account Modifications click here.

10. How do I change my account to be held in the name of my trust?
A.To change the account type from an individual (IO) or a jointly held (JT) account, Technology Funding requires a letter of instruction signed and signature guaranteed by the owner(s) of the units along with a photo copy of the first and last page of the trust document. Please be sure to give the full name of the trust, the full names of the trustee(s), and the tax ID# of the trust. There is no fee for this kind of a change.

To Make Account Modifications click here.

11. How do I change the name on my account? (due to marriage or divorce etc.)
A.To change the name on your account due to marriage or divorce, Technology Funding requires a letter of instruction signed and signature guaranteed (both the old and the new name) by the owner(s) of the account. There is no fee for this kind of change.

To Make Account Modifications click here.

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