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Holding Your Securities

As an individual investor, you have up to three choices when it comes to holding your securities:

Physical Certificate — The security is registered in your name on the issuer's books, and you receive an actual, hard copy stock or bond certificate representing your ownership of the security.

"Street Name" Registration — The security is registered in the name of your brokerage firm on the issuer's books, and your brokerage firm holds the security for you in "book-entry" form. "Book-entry" simply means that you do not receive a certificate. Instead, your broker keeps a record in its books that you own that particular security.
  "Direct" Registration — The security is registered in your name on the issuer's books, and either the company or its transfer agent holds the security for you in book-entry form. The "Direct Registration System" (also known as "DRS") allows investors to transfer securities held this way.

This publication explains these choices in greater detail, by laying out the advantages and disadvantages of each and by answering  frequently asked questions. Depending on the type of security and where you purchase it, you may or may not have all these choices about how your securities are held. For example, not all companies offer direct registration, and some no longer issue physical certificates. You should ask your broker or the company what options you have.

Physical Certificate

When you buy a security, whether through your broker or from the company itself, you can ask to have the actual stock or bond certificates sent to you.  You may have to pay a nominal fee for the added expense of issuing a paper certificate.  It's important that you safeguard your certificates until you sell or transfer your securities. It can be difficult to prove that you once owned a certificate that has been lost, stolen, or destroyed. Your broker — or the company or its transfer agent — will generally charge a fee to replace a lost or stolen stock certificate.

The advantages of holding a physical certificate include:

• The company knows how to reach you and will send all company reports and other information to you directly.
   
• You may find it easier to pledge your securities as collateral for a loan if you hold the certificates yourself in physical certificate form.

The disadvantages include:

• When you want to sell your stock, you will have to send the certificate to your broker or the company's transfer agent to execute the sale. This may make it harder for you to sell quickly.
   
• If you lose your certificate, you may be charged a fee for a replacement certificate.
   
• If you move, you will have to contact the company with your change of address so that you do not miss any important mailings.

Street Name Registration

You may have your security registered in street name and held in your account at your broker-dealer. Many brokerage firms will automatically put your securities into street name unless you give them specific instructions to the contrary. Under street name registration, your firm will keep records showing you as the real or "beneficial" owner, but you will not be listed directly on the issuer's books. Instead, your brokerage firm (or some other nominee) will appear as the owner on the issuer's books.

While you will not receive a certificate, your firm will send to you, at least four times a year, an account statement that lists all your securities at the broker-dealer. Your broker-dealer will also credit your account with your dividend and interest payments and will provide you with consolidated tax information. Your broker-dealer will send you issuer mailings such as annual reports and proxies.

The advantages of letting your brokerage firm hold your securities in "street name" include:

• Because your securities are already with your broker, you can place limit orders that direct your broker to sell a security at a specific price.
   
• Your brokerage firm is responsible for safeguarding your securities certificates so you don't have to worry about your securities certificates being lost or stolen.
   
• Your brokerage firm may keep you informed of important developments, such as tender offers or when bonds are called.
   
• It is easier to set up a margin account.

The disadvantages include:

• You may experience a slight delay in receiving your dividend and interest payments from your brokerage firm. For example, some firms only pass along these payments to investors on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis.
   
• Since your name is not on the books of the company, the company will not mail important corporate communications directly to you.

Direct Registration

If a company offers direct registration for its securities, you can choose to be registered directly on the books of the company regardless of whether you bought your securities through your broker or directly from the company or its transfer agent through a direct investment plan. Direct registration allows you to have your security registered in your name on the books of the issuer without the need for a physical certificate to serve as evidence of your ownership. While you will not receive a certificate, you will receive a statement of ownership and periodic account statements, dividends, annual reports, proxies, and other mailings directly from the issuer.

The advantages of direct registration include:

• Since you are "registered" on the books of the company as the shareholder, you will receive annual and other reports, dividends, proxies, and other communications directly from the company.
   
• If you want to sell your securities through your broker, you can instruct your broker to electronically move your securities via DRS from the books of the company and then to sell your securities. Your broker should be able to do this quickly without the need for you filling out complicated and time-consuming forms.
   
• You do not have to worry about safekeeping or losing certificates, or having them stolen.

The disadvantages include:

• If you choose to buy or sell registered securities through a company's direct investment plan, you usually will not be able to buy or sell at a specific market price or at a specific time. Instead, the company will purchase or sell shares for the plan at established times — for example, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis — and at an average market price.

While it is solely your decision how to hold your securities, you should carefully review each of the alternative forms of security registration and should consult with your financial advisor or broker-dealer to determine which form is best for you.

Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

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