Corporate Issuers Rate Loyalty and Satisfaction with Transfer Agent Services

FAIRFAX, Calif., Oct. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Group Five, a consulting and corporate services research company, today announced the results of its annual study of corporate opinions of services provided by transfer agents. The annual study, which has been measuring client opinions for 23 years, is based on the completed surveys from 802 corporations — representing over 29 million registered shareowners. The study provides the only reliable and independent forum for corporate clients to make their opinions and priorities known to service providers.

Overall client satisfaction with transfer agent services is unchanged from last year at 87% favorable. Client loyalty, however, declined 4 points from 2013 to 77% favorable. Annual meeting services remain the highest rated transfer agent service at 96% favorable. Telephone service to shareholders continues to be the lowest rated transfer agent service at 80% favorable.

Client loyalty for the two large transfer agents is 79% favorable. Wells Fargo Shareowner Services is highest rated at 83% followed by Computershare at 75%. The Computershare loyalty ratings range from 81% for pre-merger clients to 64% for BNY Mellon clients acquired in the merger. Satisfaction among Computershare's pre-merger clients is the industry highest at 90%.

Jack Sunday of Group Five pointed out, "Account support continues to be the key to building and maintaining client loyalty. Excellent shareholder service, on the other hand, is a baseline requirement which is not consistently met. Our research has found that issuers who measure shareholder satisfaction with transfer agent service are more likely to be loyal than those who do not. This is because shareholder satisfaction measures unambiguously show how good the service is to shareholders, which builds trust in the relationship."

"Our company's vision is to satisfy all our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially," said Todd May, head of Wells Fargo Shareowner Services. "This long-standing commitment to service spans across the entire Wells Fargo organization and continues to keep not only our clients, but also their shareowners, at the center of everything we do."

"Now that Computershare has successfully completed the integration of the BNY Mellon Shareowner Services business, we look forward to continuing to build trust and loyalty among those clients," said Jay McHale, President of US Equity Services for Computershare. "We are very happy to see that overall issuer satisfaction continued positive this year; with the integration complete, we will focus on offering market-leading products and services to all our clients and their shareholders in order to meet, and exceed, their expectations."

For the two mid-size transfer agents in the study, industry client loyalty is 85% favorable. Registrar & Transfer has the highest client loyalty at 96% favorable and the highest client satisfaction at 100% favorable.

Tom Montrone, Chairman, President and CEO of Registrar & Transfer Company said, "It's gratifying to achieve such a high loyalty rating and to be so well-regarded by our clients. This acknowledgement is reflective of our constant effort to add value to our relationship with our clients and we are grateful for their recognition."

Group Five is a consulting and market research firm. The firm is best known for its consulting and research expertise in shareholder services and stock plan administration services.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release or Group Five survey results without the express prior written consent of Group Five.

SOURCE Group Five