Every issuer of securities needs an accurate answer to a simple question: who owns what, and since when. The share register is that answer. It drives dividend payments, voting rights, tax reporting and the transfers that change ownership. Some companies keep the register themselves, but often a bank or trust company acting as registrar, transfer agent and paying agent maintains it on their behalf, for many issuers at once.
Shareholder management software, also searched for as share register software or share ledger accounting software, is the system behind that service. MIMICS has built such systems for decades, covering stock and bond registers, corporate actions and online proxy voting, and fits each one to the agent's own procedures.
Registrar, Transfer Agent and Paying Agent Roles
One institution often holds all three roles, but each does a different job:
- Registrar. Keeps the authoritative list of holders for each issue and confirms that no more are outstanding than were authorized.
- Transfer agent. Records changes of ownership when holders sell, give or inherit securities, including partial transfers.
- Paying agent. Calculates and distributes dividends, interest and principal to holders and supports the related tax reporting.
Software for this work should treat the three as one flow: a transfer recorded today must change who receives the next payment. It should also make holder service easy. When a holder calls about a missing dividend, a change of address or an inherited position, staff need the full history of that account on screen, along with the issue details and every payment made, so the question can be answered on the first call rather than after a search through files.
Share Register and Share Ledger Accounting
A share ledger is more than a list of names. It records each issue, every holder's current and past positions, restrictions on holdings and the journal behind every change. When evaluating share register software, check how it handles:
- multiple issuers, and several issues or classes per issuer;
- full and partial transfers, with the journal detail an auditor will ask for;
- dividends on record-date and pro-rated methods;
- corporate actions such as splits, conversions and new issues;
- employee share plans, which add vesting and restricted holdings.
MIMICS Shareholder Accounting is used by private and public companies and by registered paying and transfer agents. It keeps the register for each issue, processes transfers of ownership, automates dividend calculation and distribution, and covers corporate actions and ESOP and ESPP activity.
Bond Paying Agent and Debt Registers
Debt registers raise their own questions: fixed and floating interest, maturities, calls and puts. Bond Paying Agent & Transfer Agent tracks transfers, sales and holder positions, processes interest, principal, maturity, call and put payments, and prints certificates, receipts, confirmations and checks, with no software limit on holders or issues. Because it works with Shareholder Accounting, convertible bonds can be converted to stock automatically under their terms.
Companies that issue their own commercial paper, promissory notes or certificates of indebtedness can use Debt Management, which performs the registrar, paying agent and transfer agent functions for fixed-maturity and open-maturity instruments.
eProxy and Online Shareholder Voting
A shareholder meeting requires proxy materials to reach every holder and votes to be counted accurately. The MIMICS eProxy System lets the company upload proxy materials in PDF, HTML or other formats, which holders can download, receive by email or request by mail. The site can be hosted by MIMICS or another web host, and it does not track or collect information about its visitors. As an option, registered shareholders can log in with a password to vote, and the system tabulates the votes with an audit trail. Because eProxy interfaces with Shareholder Accounting, the voting list comes straight from the register.
Registers for Funds, REITs and Certificates of Deposit
The same agency work applies beyond common stock. MIMICS REITs handles registrar, transfer agent and paying agent duties for real estate investment trusts, including restricted, hypothecated or vested holdings and broker commissions. Mutual Fund Admin provides the investor register for funds, and CD Custody & Issuance performs the agent functions for certificates of deposit.
Choosing a Shareholder Management System
Ask how holder communications are produced, whether payment methods can differ by holder group, how year-end tax forms are generated, and whether stock, bonds and proxy voting draw on one register. Ask, too, how the system copes with your largest issue on a dividend date, when every holder must be paid correctly and on time, and how replacement checks and returned payments are handled. MIMICS fits each system to your agency's workflow. To talk through your register, contact us.
Frequently asked questions
What is shareholder management software?
It is the system a company or its agent uses to maintain the share register. It records issues and holders, processes transfers of ownership, calculates and pays dividends, handles corporate actions and produces holder statements and tax forms. Banks and trust companies acting as registrar, transfer agent and paying agent use it to serve many issuers from one system.
What does a transfer agent do?
A transfer agent records changes in the ownership of an issuer's securities. When a holder sells, gives or inherits shares or bonds, the transfer agent updates the register so the right person receives future dividends, interest and meeting materials. The role is often combined with registrar and paying agent duties at the same institution.
What is a paying agent?
A paying agent distributes payments from an issuer to the holders of its securities: dividends on shares, and interest, principal and redemption amounts on bonds and other debt. It works out each holder's amount from the register, pays by check or electronic transfer and keeps the records needed for tax reporting.
What is eProxy?
eProxy means delivering proxy materials for a shareholder meeting online rather than only on paper, and often collecting votes online as well. Shareholders can read or download the materials, ask for them by email or mail, and, where offered, log in to cast their votes, which the system then tabulates.