Under the agreement, Euroclear will liaise with issuers seeking to identify their shareholders worldwide. Capital Precision will complement the home market shareholder record received from Euroclear or the issuer, by identifying the issuerâs shareholders from outside the issuerâs home market. Capital Precision will also perform its information analytics to provide added-value benchmark and shareholder profile information to the issuer.
The new service offering will include (depending on the market and according to issuer needs):
⢠domestic shareholder identification;
⢠foreign shareholder identification;
⢠shareholder groupings according to investor type and strategy, e.g. hedge funds, buy and hold, etc.; and
⢠detailed shareholder and peer company analysis.
The joint service offering is expected to cover equities issued in five markets where Euroclear operates as a central securities depository (CSD), namely: Belgium, Finland, France, Sweden and The Netherlands â equating to over 30% of equity market capitalisation in Europe.
Jo Van de Velde, Managing Director and Head of Product Management at Euroclear, stated: âThe ultimate goal of having complete and accurate information concerning company shareholders worldwide is rapidly becoming a reality. Against the backdrop of sweeping regulatory changes aimed at strengthening corporate governance through greater shareholder transparency, in cooperation with Capital Precision, we will be able to equip issuers with greater shareholder knowledge. In-depth reporting on shareholder profiles will assist issuers in targeting a wider shareholder base, arranging investor road shows and increasing shareholder participation at annual general meetings.â
Van de Velde continued: âCertain markets already empower issuers with the right to request a breakdown of their shareholder base from any financial intermediary. However, in other markets where no such legislation exists, it is more difficult to identify the beneficial owner. The joint Euroclear/Capital Precision service will go a very long way in delivering comprehensive domestic and foreign shareholder information to issuers via a single request to Euroclear.â
Dr. Oliver Niedermaier, King Worldwide Chief Executive Officer, said: âOur partnership with Euroclear represents a real change in the capital market intelligence available to issuers in these markets. By combining Capital Precisionâs proprietary shareholder identification methodology and Euroclearâs established infrastructure and issuer relationships, we are able to offer a unique service which brings a level of depth and accuracy not seen before.â