As we enter the new calendar year I’d like to reflect on our Registry business over the past twelve months, touching on what we’ve achieved and what we can expect moving into 2017.
I’m delighted with the positive feedback we’ve received from clients in 2016, and look forward to continuing this in the coming year.
I’d also like to welcome our new clients: Smith & Nephew, CYBG plc, Henry Boot and Octopus Titan VCT. We’re looking forward to working with you in 2017 and beyond.
Industry leading products and services
Over the course of 2016, our Registry team have continued to deliver real benefits to our clients and their shareholders through the new products and services we’ve introduced. Some of our most recent developments include:
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Expanded Payments Service To reduce the cost, complexity and time taken to complete payments for shareholders, we’ve expanded our SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) payment services from 12 to 47 countries. |
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Deceased Estate Dealing Service We’ve made it easier for executors and representatives to sell the shares of their estate. Managing an estate is complex and we are working towards simplifying the process wherever possible. |
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Indemnity Cover We’ve partnered with an insurance broker who arranges A-rated cover for £50k+ lost certificate cases. Shareholders can still arrange their own insurance, but have been finding it increasingly difficult to arrange their own counter signatures. Our partner will process the application quickly and will only reject cases on an exceptional basis. |
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Launched Company Secretarial Services We’ve partnered with expert providers to offer independent, high quality and comprehensive Company Secretarial solutions. |
Ranked as the UK's Best Registrar
It's always a tremendous achievement to be recognised for our hard work and we're delighted to be named the UK's No.1 Registrar twice in 2016.
Most recently, we were ranked as Best Registrar by Shares Magazine at their annual Shares Awards. Voted by the general public, this award truly reflects the work we put into delivering the best service and products for our clients and their shareholders.
We also secured No.1 spot in July, topping all eight major categories in the Capital Analytics survey. As well as achieving some of the highest scores in the survey's history, we're particularly proud to receive our best scores in the categories that concerned our clients most:
- Proactivity of account teams
- Ability to control out of pocket expenses
- Call centre knowledge
These achievements underline a brilliant year for us. We lead our industry by placing our clients and their shareholders at the heart of everything we do and it's fantastic to be recognised for this.
And we won't stop here. In 2017, we have even more developments to look forward to:
- Enhancements to our bereavement services
- Launch of our new dealing service
- Cash alternatives for dividends
We will continue to lead our industry with new technologies
As a global registrar we are uniquely placed to identify and develop the next generation of technology in our industry. We are taking the lead in the application of 'Blockchain' technology and the use of virtual and hybrid meeting systems in AGMs.
We know that the more insight our clients have into their share register the better equipped they will be to monitor, manage and engage their corporate and retail shareholders. That's why we are researching and developing insight technologies to offer our clients instantaneous, detailed analysis of their share register.
The legislative environment will continue to evolve in 2017
On the near horizon we expect to see the long awaited UK government consultation on the implementation of full-market dematerialisation. As well as this, we are actively assessing the implications of changes to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID2) and the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that will apply from 2018.
As always we will support our clients to navigate any legislative challenges in the most effective way.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients for their continued support in 2016. We're proud to be your partner and we're looking forward to working with you in the coming year.