Abandoned Property Reporting
Delivering your shareholders’ assets securely and accurately is our priority. We can help with abandoned property, unclaimed property, escheatment, and everything else associated with remitting unclaimed or dormant assets to the various states or jurisdictions.
From due diligence to filings.
Leveraging Our Partnerships To Serve Shareholders
With our corporate partnerships, we will comply with SEC and state laws to search and locate lost shareholders. Contact your Account Manager to learn more on how we can help reduce escheated assets, and related cost to manage the escheat process.
Ensuring Regulatory Compliance
Before the escheatment process is reached, we perform abandoned property due diligence mailings under the various state regulatory requirements in an attempt to ensure shareholders do not lose contact with their asset and avoid turning over the asset to their respective state of residence.
Lost shareholders are searched for under SEC rule 17 AD-17 in order to reunite the shareholder with their asset. We provide this search process to the shareholder cost-free.
Reducing Escheatment Charges
Shareholder participation is voluntary and they, or their heirs, have the option to contact us to update account information if they wish to make a claim directly.
The location process benefits the issuer by ensuring that any property that was previously abandoned is returned to its rightful owner, avoiding escheatment as required by each state’s guidelines. We’re able to reduce your escheatment charges, and help more shareholders reunite with their underlying assets.
Important Message
Each of the 50 states has its own abandoned property (escheatment) laws that issuers and their transfer agents must comply with regarding shareholder assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) mandates that transfer agents perform two searches (fall and spring) for missing or inactive shareholders on behalf of their issuers.
As an enhancement, Continental partners with Abandoned Property Advisors LLC (“APA”), which uses specialized search expertise and technology to help locate lost shareholders. Although APA sends mailings to potentially lost shareholders who did not respond to the SEC search and charges a fee for its services, shareholders may always update their records and avoid unnecessary escheatment at no cost by contacting Continental directly.
Helpful Resources
SEC Guidelines
Highly personalized, shoulder-to-shoulder approach.
We’re deeply engaged in applying our industry expertise to help shareholders of our clients thrive.