On September 15, 2008, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This is considered the largest failure of an investment bank since Drexel Burnham Lambert collapsed because of fraud allegations 18 years ago. If you're planning to go into stocks investment, it is worth looking at the Lehman story.

In 1850, Henry, Emanuel and Mayer Lehman founded the Lehman Brothers, a fast-growing firm involved in cotton trading. It became a member of the New York Stock Exchange in 1887 and shifted from commodities trading to stocks investment in 1906. Lehman offered shares of many big companies all over the country.

Pete Peterson, the first non-member of the Lehman family to lead the company, helped the stocks investment firm weather the financial crisis of the 1970s. He carried Lehman Brothers from staggering losses to five consecutive years of record profits with stocks investment returns among the highest in the industry.

When Peterson was ousted in 1983 due to internal bickering, his successor Lewis Glucksman plunged Lehman into disarray. The stocks investment firm was sold to Shearson in 1984 for $360 million, and in 1994 it spun off into Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.

Under its current CEO Richard S. Fuld, Jr., Lehman acquired more businesses, establishing the Investment Management Division that generated $3.1 billion in net revenue and almost $800 million in pre-tax income in 2007. From the time it went public in 1994, the stocks investment company had increased its net revenues by over 600%, and its staff from 8.500 people to almost 28,600. At one time, the firm had in excess of $275 billion in assets.

Trouble started in 2003, when Lehman was found guilty of improperly associating analyst compensation with investment-banking revenues and promising favorable, market-moving research coverage in exchange for underwriting opportunities.

The firm entered into a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Office of the New York State Attorney General, paying $80 million in financial penalties and implementing structural reforms, including splitting the investment banking and research departments and providing free, independent, third-party research to Lehman clients.

In August 2007, the stocks investment firm closed BNC Mortgage, its subprime lender, and took an after-tax charge of $25 million and a $27-million reduction in goodwill. In the second quarter of 2008, Lehman reported losses of $2.8 billion and was forced to sell $6 billion in assets. From January to June of 2008, Lehman stock lost 73% of its value.

Its shares plunged by 45% to $7.79 on September 9, and the next day the firm announced a loss of $3.9 billion and their intent to sell off a majority stake in their investment management business. Its stock price dropped another 40 percent on September 11, and news broke out that Lehman had been in talks with Bank of America and Barclays for the company's possible sale.

On September 15, shortly before 1 a.m., the company announced its plan to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing assets worth $639 billion, a bond debt of $155 billion, and a bank debt of $613 billion. Lehman shares crashed over 90% that day.

PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed as administrators of Lehman's regional office in London. Its Tokyo branch, Lehman Brothers Japan Inc., filed for civil reorganization on September 16.

This year on September 17, the NYSE delisted Lehman Brothers. It is now a penny stocks investment company trading on the Pink Sheets under the stock symbol "LEHMQ" for $0.05 to $0.25.

So what happens now to your Lehman stock? Lehman did not file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means its entire assets won't be sold in an attempt to pay your share. Instead, by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Lehman will continue to operate and attempt to fix its bad debt. If Lehman does not recover, it will eventually file for Chapter 7 and liquidate. Either way, you will not likely see any return on your stocks investments.