Lost Shares

Posted by Sharesamadhan on June 8th, 2016

If you Lost Shares Certificate, don't fret, replacing it is only a few steps until a replacement certificate will be on its way. Whether you have Lost Share certificate(s) through any number of unfortunate scenarios replacing them is a fairly simple process. If you believe your certificates were stolen don't fear. Your name or the name of the beneficial owner is still held in the registry as the official owner of the shares. Like a check the only way to transfer ownership is to sign it to the new owner. Regardless of your method of your loss, a dedicated effort can have you in possession of your stock certificates in short time. The first step in the process is to obtain and get in contact with the transfer agent that represents the company and handles it's registry. You should be able to find the transfer agent on a number of company paperwork. Within the large stack of papers you receive every year as a shareholder you should be able to decipher a number to call. It is obligated that the transfer agent information be published in the Annual Report. There are also multiple online sources to find information if you are stonewalled. The Securities and Exchange Commission publishes all public filings on it's website which is another invaluable resource in finding corporate information such as this contact information.If you have backup photocopies/scans of your Lost Shares Certificate(s) ownership then you may skip all of the next steps. Simply contact the transfer agent and the representative will be able to walk you through a very simple process. Because you have retained copies of your stock certificates along with the stock certificate number that is found on it.

The number of steps and paperwork is much simplified.If you do not have scans/copies of your share ownership than a heftier process is at hand. Contact the transfer agent recovered from the annual report or other corporate filing. Speak with a representative from the transfer agent firm affiliated with the company whose certificates you have lost. Express the details of you scenario, number of shares lost and other sensitive/pertinent information. The transfer agent will strongly recommend/inform you to purchase a surety bond. Most transfer agents have a surety bond company that they will forward on to yourself. Surety bonds will fetch you in the area of 3 percent of the value of the certificates that you wish to have replaced.This next step is where the flaws of dealing with antiquated system become overwhelmingly apparent. Very often the stock's transfer agent will require you to prove your ownership of the shares. This is by far the longest and most tedious step. Demands range across the board and vary by company in terms of delays and information requests. However once you have provided the stock transfer agent with the proof of purchase then your new paper stock certificates, fresh off the press, will be on their way.This may convince you that you should convert your Lost Shares certificates to an online share ownership. As a matter of fact, well above 90% of shareholders are in possession of there stocks though online means. They never receive their certificates. If this is an option you would like to commit to then the transfer agent will be able to direct you (depending on the company policy, some do not have online ownership systems).