Financial Services
Georgeson Securities CorporationAbout
Important information
- Government Actions:Government Action: BBB reports on known government actions involving business’ marketplace conduct:Maryland Securities Division Announces Refund to Maryland Shareholders of Georgeson Securities Corporation, Georgeson LLC,
The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.
BALTIMORE, MD (July 24, 2025) – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced today
that his Securities Division reached a settlement with Georgeson Securities Corporation,
Georgeson, LLC, and Computershare, Inc. Georgeson Securities Corporation together with
Georgeson, LLC (collectively “Georgeson”), affiliates of Computershare, provide, among other
things, services to update shareholders’ records for publicly traded companies.
The settlement requires Georgeson to pay restitution to all Maryland participants in its
Shareholder CleanUp Program who had paid program fees and had not been advised of the
option to update their shareholder registration for free through Computershare.According to the facts in the Consent Order, to which Georgeson neither admitted nor can deny,
Georgeson omitted to state material facts in offering, selling, or purchasing securities by failing
to disclose to shareholders that they, in lieu of paying a fee, could update their shareholder
records through Computershare for free. Instead Georgeson advised shareholders that they had
the option to update the records directly through Computershare where “fees may be different.”
When a shareholder elected to participate in the Shareholder CleanUp Program, Georgeson
would sell a portion of the shares and use any cash in the shareholder’s account to pay itself the
program fees, which generally ranged from 10% to 20% of the value of the shares. If
shareholders declined to participate and instead directly contacted Computershare, their
shareholder records could be updated for free with the shareholder simply providing appropriate
information or documentation.
Georgeson will pay $750,000 in restitution to Maryland shareholders together with a penalty of
$2.25 million. Going forward, in letters to shareholders Georgeson will prominently disclose that
www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov
shareholder registrations can be updated for free through Computershare, and during telephone
calls with shareholders Georgeson will state at least once during the call the free Computershare
option. Georgeson will make similar disclosures in any shareholder cleanup program services
performed by Georgeson for transfer agents other than Computershare or an affiliate, and for
issuers not affiliated with Computershare.
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