Group Five Releases 2022 Results for Equity Compensation Financial Reporting Services

Equity Methods has the highest loyalty rating for the tenth year in a row, and a 100% favorable overall satisfaction rating.

Among equity plan administration providers, UBS received the highest loyalty and overall satisfaction rating for the third year in a row.

NOVATO, Calif., Sept. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In the Group Five Financial Reporting Benchmarking Study, corporate plan sponsors rate their loyalty and satisfaction with third-party service providers who offer financial reporting services related to equity compensation plans. In this year's study, industry-wide loyalty decreased three points compared to last year's study to a Net Promoter Score (NPS)* of 50, while overall satisfaction declined by one point to 87% favorable.** The decreases in loyalty and overall satisfaction are statistically insignificant and reflect steady levels of client satisfaction with both platform functionality and reports.

"Among clients of financial reporting service providers, loyalty and satisfaction is driven primarily by platform functionality, reporting accuracy, and support staff expertise" said Kathy Huston, President of Group Five.

Equity Methods, an independent valuation, financial reporting, and human resources advisory services firm, for the tenth consecutive year, received the highest ratings in the study with an NPS of 97 and an overall satisfaction rating of 100% favorable.

"We're honored to be recognized with the top satisfaction and loyalty scores in the industry again this year," said Takis Makridis, president and CEO of Equity Methods. "Our clients face unrelenting regulatory, market, and workforce change. We take pride in offering them an integrated approach that brings creativity, flexibility, and automation to their most critical equity compensation initiatives and processes. This year marks our tenth anniversary as an independent company, making this acknowledgement from clients especially meaningful."

Among full-service equity plan administration service providers who deliver financial reporting services to plan sponsors as part of their service offering, UBS has the highest loyalty rating with an NPS of 62, and the highest overall satisfaction rating at 94% favorable.

"UBS is honored to once again be rated #1 in overall satisfaction for financial reporting for the third consecutive year among equity plan administration providers" said Michael Barry, Head of UBS Workplace Wealth Solutions. "With heightened regulatory and shareholder scrutiny on equity awards, we know that rigor around execution and service excellence is imperative. We are very grateful to our clients for recognizing our commitment to the workplace and the teams' knowledge and hyper focus on client support in this area as well as other critical areas such as financial wellness for all employees, international and executive services. We are firmly committed to the workplace business and helping companies and their employees."

Now in its 24^th year, this year's annual study includes responses from 380 U.S. public companies who use an outsourced financial reporting service provider. The Group Five study is the only independent forum for plan sponsors to confidentially express their opinions and priorities to service providers. To download a complimentary summary of the results by service provider, please visit Group Five's website.

Founded in 1990, Group Five Inc. is a corporate services research firm. Group Five, an industry leader in business-to-business loyalty and satisfaction research, is best known for research in equity plan administration and shareholder services.

*NPS®, Net Promoter® & Net Promoter Score® are a registered trademark of Fred Reichheld, Satmetrix, and Bain & Company. Net Promoter Scores range from -100 to +100 based upon the difference between the percent of promoter and detractor scores.

**A favorable rating is defined as a rating of 4 or 5 on a 1 to 5 satisfaction scale.

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

Company Contact:
Kathy Huston, 415.785.7983
[email protected]
www.groupfiveinc.com

SOURCE Group Five