Transfer Agent Services in 2025
The stock transfer industry has seen a LOT of changes in the 38 years we have worked within it. So, we thought we should list some of the more interesting recent developments we have gleaned from our continuous interactions with key industry players.
There are now just four MAJOR stock transfer agents (TAs) in the U.S. – Broadridge, Computershare, Continental and EQ. There are a dozen other smaller agents, some with quite robust service offerings and great reputations – but none come close to the “Big Four” cited above in terms of industry footprint, at least not for the foreseeable future.
Looking at the Big Four collectively, we would say, perhaps surprisingly, that none of them have existential flaws at this time. That was not always the case, especially when there were six or seven major TAs – not so many years ago. Is there SOME customer dissatisfaction at the Big Four now? Sure. But show me an industry where the largest service providers did not experience client grumblings, here and there. Bottom line? We have rarely if ever seen a quieter state of affairs within the stock transfer industry as we do now. And evidence of that is how little is happening in the area of client defections, from one TA to another.
So, what are some of the more notable capabilities major TAs agents have put in place for the benefit of issuers and shareholders? We can think of the following, not offered by all of the Big Four but available from them as a group:
- Online portals offering real-time data access, real-time activity reporting and same-day transaction processing.
- Client online “dashboards,” capturing activity across multiple disciplines (stock transfer, proxy tabulation, abandoned property reporting, etc.)
- Online origination of TA-to-broker (“DWAC”) transactions.
- Regulatory documents creation and filing.
- Automated online client alerts on key happenings or developments.
- Section 16 officer transaction monitoring, and regulatory filings.
- Smart messaging to shareholders so they act in a desired fashion, like vote their proxy, opt for electronic communications and more.
- Direct stock purchase plans that can source stock from both the open market or from authorized but unissued share reserves, the latter giving the plans powerful capital-raising potential along with other benefits.
- Online “chat” functionality for shareholders.
- Online access to “legal transfer” forms.
- International shareholder services.
- Compliance with international as well as domestic shareholder data security protocols.
- Top-notch cyber-security, as evidenced by ratings from the likes of Bitsight.
- Full tax regulation reporting and compliance.
- Critical assistance with data retrieval and reporting to state contingency fee auditors like Kelmar.
- Virtual shareholder meeting services, including for beneficial shareholders via strategic application programming interfaces (APIs).
- Full proxy solicitation services, via “name” subsidiaries that have been in the business for decades.
- Merger and acquisition transactions expertise, with expedited processing.
- Lost shareholder tracing, and asset reunification.
- Qualified employee stock plans administration.
- Portals expediting communication and document sharing between the corporate secretary and the board of directors.
- Expertise with special acquisition company (SPAC) IPOs and follow-on “de-SPAC” transactions.
- Subsidiary/entity recordkeeping and regulatory compliance.
- Artificial intelligence deployment at a selective but increasing pace, such as for basic shareholder inquiry.
Quite an impressive list! We always chuckle when people say how boring and “commodity-like” the stock transfer industry is. And there are undoubtedly many more service additions and upgrades to come – from the Big Four and maybe from an unexpected “pretender” (or two) as well.