American stock transfer
A stock transfer agent is a company that completes the transfer of stocks from one stockholder to another. They carry out the cancellation of the certificates that are surrendered and give out new certificates issued in the name of the new stockholder. One such company is the American Stock Transfer (AST).
The American Stock Transfer provides all the help that it can to help its customers to gain maximum benefit. When you choose a stock transfer agent your main concern is the price and the performance. AST provides both of these in the expectation of the customers. They run on the concept of partnership. When you deal with them they are just not service provides. They act as partners and provide you the maximum help that they can for your benefit and comfort.
They have an experienced staff that has been involved in the stock transfer business for the past 30 years. Members in their staff associate with the clients and cater to their needs.
Their corporate services include the following:
24/7 IVR and Internet access for dividend reinvestment and direct purchase
IPO counseling
Full dedication to transfer agency services
Proxy services
Interactive communication through our secure Internet web site
Electronic transmission of data
Personal, expert attention to your investors
Trustee for debentures, Tender Agent, Exchange Agent & ; Escheatment
Advantages of dealing with AST
They have been ranked as number 1 in the esteemed Group Five survey. They provide the following advantages:
Pioneering Technological Innovation: They rely on constantly improving their technology so that they can serve their clients in a better way.
Responsiveness to our Customers/ Flexibility: They are continuously improving on their business process s that they can meet the needs of the clients according to their terms.
Organizational structure: Every client is given an account administration tram that is responsible to handle all the fields of the client relationship. This team solves all the queries that the clients have.
Simple and Predictable Fess structure: They have a flat monthly fee structure, which includes all the aspects excepting the out-of?pocket and incidental expenses.
The AST provides its clients the facility of logging into their shareholder database and their can go through the shareholders account. These accounts can be viewed by name, shareholder tax ID number or by geographic searches.
If you wish to sell your shares and if your shares are represented by the physical stock certificate then you can get in touch with any broker. If your shares are in the dividend reinvestment plan then you are supposed to visit the site and click on the specific link that would allow you to check whether the security that you have would allow you to sell the shares through the plan.
In case you wish to replace a certificate that is either lost of stolen then you are supposed to log into your account and complete the form for the lost certificate and submit it. Once this is done then the representatives of AST start working on the application and mail the required form with a letter that would explain the process of what is to be done. The same process is followed in case you have lost your dividend check or it is stolen.
You can receive the dividend checks electronically and have them deposited into your account. You should log into your account and choose the Receive Dividends via Direct Deposit. Then fill the form that is available and submit it. Once that you have activated your account for direct deposits then all the future dividends would be directly deposited into your bank account. But any previous dividends issued by checks that you are holding will not be deposited into your account.
If you wish to take a duplicate statement of your DRIP account then you can log into your account and you can mail AST at You are required to provide the full name of the statement, the account number, name and the social security number. You should also specify the year that is required. With this information the Dividend Reinvestment Statement will be mailed to you. To get a duplicate of the 1099 statement you are required to follow the same procedure. If AST is unable to complete your request then they will provide you with the particulars.
You can download different stock transfer forms from the AST web site like:
Affidavit of Domicile
Certification of Identity
Form W-8/W-9
Generic DRS request form
Generic letter of transmittal
Stock power form
When you are transferring a stock through AST you should make sure that you submit the physical stock certificate. Also make sure that you provide the signatures of the registered owners as applicable. These signatures are required to be Medallion Signature Guaranteed by any financial institution that is a part of the Medallion Stamp Program. You can carry out the irrevocable stock power or can approve the Assignment Form that is on the backside of the certificate.
Remember that nay of the legal documents like birth or death certificates, court appointments, etc that are provided are filed with the cancellation certificates and are not returned back. In case you are unable to give the original copies then you should provide copies that should be Medallion Signature Guaranteed.
AST provides the best service in stock transfer market. For opening an account with them and becoming their client you can log on to their website. You can even visit them at 59 Maiden Lane; Plaza Level; New York NY 10038.
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