Posts about Shares

If you've ever had to give share certificates to shareholders after issuing out shares or completing a funding round, you know what serious hassle means. Manually filling out information on share certificate templates, printing them out, signing them by hand, and then scanning (or even mailing!) them to be sent to the share holder. Not to mention the filing process of paper certificates that keep piling up or getting misplaced... Well, great news is we've made this all ancient history! 

A shareholder register is a common requirement for private companies in numerous countries, including but not limited to the UK, the US, and Denmark. Countries such as Sweden, Australia, and Finland keep an equivalent share register. The register consisting of a list of the company's shareholders, which was historically kept in a loose-leaf or bound book. Even today though, newly formed companies continue to use and manually update a hard-copy, despite the electronic version often being easier to maintain and just as acceptable from a legal perspective.

There are numerous schemes and plans out there to attract and incentivise employees, and more are certain to see the light of day. Some have tax advantages, such as EMI and CSOP. Others, such as unapproved options, do not, but are also less limited by legislative requirements.

As a millennial and digital native who has entered the world of registrars and equity management in unlisted UK companies, I have often been surprised by the lack of digitisation. Share certificates are on the top of my list.