My employer doesn't have an ESPP, but they do have a DRIP. I do not know much about either type of employee investment plan, and I'm wondering what the basic difference is. Can someone explain this in fairly simple terms and if a DRIP is worth investing in? Here's the information I found from our company about our plan:
• If you are a new investor, you may join the Plan by making an initial investment of not less than $1,000
up to a maximum of $10,000. In some instances, we may permit initial investments in excess of this
maximum if we approve your request for waiver.
• Regardless of whether you are an existing stockholder or a new investor, you may purchase shares of
our common stock at a discount ranging from 0% to 5% (currently set at 2%) without paying any
service fees, processing fees or other charges. This discount applies to reinvested dividends, optional
cash payments and initial investments. However, no discount will be available for shares acquired in
the open market. We may adjust the discount in our discretion at any time and will announce changes
to the discount at least 30 days prior to the next investment date. If we approve your request for waiver
of the monthly volume limit, we may offer you a discount ranging from 0% to 5%.