Computershare Investor Services Releases 2010 Annual Meeting Season Data for Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU), a leading financial services technology provider for the global securities industry, today has issued a report through its Investor Services business unit which highlights data obtained from Computershare clients on the 2010 annual meeting season in Australia. Among other trends, the research indicates a continued drop in meeting attendance of 16 percent from 2009 to 2010, as well as a 13 percent drop in securityholder voting over the same time period.

"For companies starting to look at their 2011 meetings, these figures are a wake-up call that something needs to change," said Greg Dooley, Managing Director of Computershare Investor Services. "There are many challenges facing organisations today when it comes to annual general meetings, the most critical being geographically dispersed investors and securityholder engagement. The declines in attendance and voting we're seeing are definitely a sign of these challenges."

The Computershare research also reflects the explosive growth in internet and mobile based transactions in Australia; specifically the change in securityholder behaviour towards online communications. Within two years, the percentage of securityholders who voted online has almost doubled, from 10.5 percent in 2008 to 20.7 percent in 2010. Computershare forecasts this number to reach 25.5 percent in 2011. Also, during 2010, more than two million securityholders received the Notice of Meeting via email, an increase of 26 percent since 2009.

"Today's securityholder is more tech savvy than ever before, requesting communications through email, web and mobile device in exponentially increasing numbers. What they don't want is to be 'talked at', opting instead to be involved in a dialog in which their voice can be heard," explained Dooley. "Organisations need to consider how their offerings reflect this ground shift and continue to expand in areas such as electronic materials delivery, email and potentially virtual participation in the traditional annual meeting."

The free report, "Computershare Investor Services Intelligence Report: 2010 Annual Meeting Season Results Australia," is available for download at http://bit.ly/hofzKy.

About Computershare Limited

Computershare (ASX: CPU) is a global market leader in transfer agency and share registration, employee equity plans, proxy solicitation and stakeholder communications. The Company also specialises in corporate trust services, tax voucher solutions, bankruptcy administration and a range of other diversified financial and governance services.

Founded in 1978, Computershare is renowned for its expertise in data management, high volume transaction processing, payments and stakeholder engagement. Many of the world's leading organisations use these core competencies to help maximise the value of relationships with their investors, employees, creditors, members and customers.

Computershare is represented in all major financial markets and has over 10,000 employees worldwide.

For more information, visit www.computershare.com.au. Follow Computershare Investor Services Australia on Twitter @CIS_AUS_News.

SOURCE Computershare Limited