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How to Modernise Your Shareholder Register for Greater Insights
A shareholder register is more than just a list of names and numbers. It’s a vital document that underpins the relationship between your company and its owners, serving as the official record of share ownership and voting rights.
This article discusses what registered shareholders are, why a shareholder register is so important, and how your shareholder register can evolve in the digital age by adding real-time data solutions to the mix.
What is a shareholder register?
A shareholder register, also called a register of members, is an official document containing key information about a company’s shareholders. These details typically include:
• Names and addresses of shareholders
• Numbers and classes of shares held
• Dates of shareholders’ acquisitions
• Any special rights or restrictions on shares
A traditional shareholder register format provides a static view of ownership. However, it may not include details on beneficial owners. It may be difficult to update based on ongoing shareholder movements, as well.
Who benefits from a company’s shareholder register?
A shareholder register is a legal requirement in many jurisdictions, which may include your own. They are a practical tool for participants in your company’s financial ecosystem, as well. Those participants may include:
• Issuers, for shareholder engagement and insights into their investor base
• Issuer agents, such as transfer agents and registrars, to help ensure accuracy and compliance with regulations
• Intermediaries, such as brokers and CSDs, to support transparency and to facilitate communication between issuers and investors
Your shareholder register can also help those in investor relations, shareholder services, and corporate governance roles with key responsibilities. Benefits include:
• Accurate dividend distributions
• Effective proxy voting processes
• Improved shareholder engagement
• Compliance with changing regulations
For example, a well-maintained shareholder register can help you achieve compliance with the European Union’s Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD II)—a regulation that encourages greater shareholder engagement.
What is a beneficial shareholder vs. a registered shareholder?
There is a difference between registered and beneficial shareholders.
Registered shareholders are listed in the register directly. Beneficial shareholders—who own shares through intermediaries, such as brokers—may not be included. In fact, traditional registers often lack real-time details about both types, let alone meaningful insights into share activity and ownership.
How do you become a registered shareholder?
Becoming a registered shareholder is a straightforward process for serious investors. Investors can:
• Purchase shares directly from the company or through a direct stock purchase plan
• Request share certificates from their broker
• Transfer shares from “street name” registration to direct registration
For example, while platforms like Robinhood primarily hold shares in street name, where shares are registered under a brokerage firm rather than the actual investor’s name, investors can often request to become registered shareholders through their broker itself.
Bring greater value to your shareholder register with Proxymity
If your company uses a traditional shareholder register book, it may have some limitations. For example:
• Updates can be tedious
• Stakeholders may struggle to identify beneficial owners
• Manual processes may delay communication and voting
The Proxymity Shareholder Insights Suite offers a modern solution to these limitations, helping you maximise the value of your shareholder data as an add-on to your register.
Using our digital platform. you can:
• Access real-time insights into registered and beneficial shareholders
• Improve transparency and communication across participants
• Apply analytics to inform strategy and shareholder engagement
• Whilst ensuring strict data privacy and security measures
If you’re prioritising digital transformation for your business, Proxymity is a great data solution to unlock the best value from your company’s shareholder register.
6 best practices for maintaining a modern shareholder register
Now that you’re familiar with how Proxymity can improve how you understand your shareholders by combining your register with digital data solutions, consider these best practices as you proceed:
• Regularly check your register’s information against other reliable sources, like transfer agent records, to ensure it is accurate
• Keep your shareholder register secure using proper protection measures to safeguard sensitive information
• Only allow authorised personnel to access the shareholder register and keep a record of who accesses it and when to maintain security
• Regularly review how you maintain your register to make sure you’re following all relevant laws and regulations
• Ask shareholders to quickly report any changes in their information, like new addresses, to keep the register up-to-date and accurate
By following these practices, and with Proxymity’s support, your shareholder data can become a valuable tool for your company’s investor relations and governance efforts.
The future of shareholder registers
As corporate governance evolves, embracing innovative technologies will be key to fostering transparency, accountability, and trust. Solutions like Proxymity’s Shareholder Insights suite are becoming essential for companies aiming to maintain effective investor relations as a result. While shareholder registers are a legal mandate and can prove to be useful, combining them with real-time technology solutions can take your shareholder analysis to the next level.
If you’d like to learn more about how Proxymity can help you and your organisation, visit our product page or contact Proxymity directly.