Where did the money in my stock acct go?

January 31, 2011 8:26 AM

I need help cashing a stock certificate through a Stock Transfer Company. I have the physical certificate in my hand, but the Stock Transfer Company says my account balance is zero. Can I get my money? How?

I've reached a dead end in search of the money that was in a stock account I own, and I thought I'd ask here for advice.

I have a stock certificate in hand for a company. It was given to my in my name in 2000 as a gift from a great-aunt. I never paid much attention to it. I cashed a few small dividend checks, but I moved around and never updated my address.

So... finally I decide to sell it as my husband and I are getting ready to buy a home. I call a few phone numbers, and here's what I find out:

Stock used to be handled by Stock Transfer Agency ABC. All records were passed to Stock Transfer Agency XYZ sometime after my account balance went to zero in June 2009.

Stock Transfer Agency ABC says that they gave all records to Agency XYZ. Agency XYZ says that when my balance went to zero, it was a "one-sided transfer" so only Agency ABC would have the details. Agency XYZ was able to reissue a few dividend checks that I never cashed, but they say that my acct balance is zero, so they can't sell my shares.

Basically, both Stock Agencies are denying responsibility for figuring this out or dealing with it. I've already spent hours on the phone here. We're talking about $1800 or so, so I'm reluctant to just let it go.

Any advice? This is far from my area of expertise.

Thank you in advance!

posted by tk to Work & Money (9 answers total)

Have you tried calling the company's investor relations department? Or was that one of the "few phone numbers" you called? Unless the physical certificate is just, essentially, a novelty, it should be serial numbered and tracked in the company's register books as outstanding.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 8:40 AM on January 31, 2011

Best answer: If you have the actual securities in hand, your balance IS zero. They are (like) money. Like a bank, if you have the money in hand, you can't also have it on your balance.

So, what you need to do is send the securities into the agency so the shares will be on account. Then they will be able to sell them for you.

How that happens depends on them. You can also probably take the certificate into a larger bank and sell it.
posted by gjc at 8:44 AM on January 31, 2011 [6 favorites]

Unless I'm missing something you are holding the physical certificate so you can mail that to a broker (or possibly a transfer company) and then they can sell it. They dont have you on record because you have physical custody.
posted by Busmick at 8:46 AM on January 31, 2011

Sorry you "don't" have physical custody and gjc beat me anyway...
posted by Busmick at 8:47 AM on January 31, 2011

actually i had it right the first time...im an idiot.
posted by Busmick at 8:49 AM on January 31, 2011

gjc is right, if you have the stock certificate your balance is zero. You can work with someone like Charles Schwab. You'll need to open an account or further to what gjc said, your bank might also be able to help if it's one of the larger ones.
posted by shoesietart at 8:55 AM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

I work for a transfer company and gjc has it right. I'm just amazed that nobody seems to have attempted to explain this to you when you spoke with the agency on the phone.
posted by Dragonness at 10:27 AM on January 31, 2011

Response by poster: Fascinating. I understand what you all are saying, although, I agree that it is very odd that of the three people I talked to (two at XYZ transfer company, one at ABC transfer company) seemed able to explain this to me. They were completely mystified by my inquiry.

The one detail that seems out of place (other than bad customer service, which I guess is just the way it goes sometimes) is that they say that I did have a balance of 200 shares, and this balance was transferred (where, they can't say) in June 2009. I am 99% sure that I've had this stock certificate for much longer than that. I don't have a steel-trap memory, but this seems like something I would remember receiving in the mail.

Also, the whole dividend thing--I was getting dividends on this stock, which presumably they knew I have, because I did get some of those checks. So they must have had some record of me having 200 shares at some point. Why is that record gone now?

I just don't want to engage in some sort of fraud and while I believe you guys, I do find it odd that none of the people in investor relations managed to tell me this. You're saying that I can just endorse this stock certificate over to a broker and get my cash?

Thanks again. I really appreciate the explanations.
posted by tk at 12:11 PM on January 31, 2011

You may need to research whether there was a stock split, payment of shares in lieu of cash dividend, stock dividend or other type of similar activity; this could be the source of the 200 shares that were with the transfer agent. I'm assuming the certificate that you have in hand is not for 200 shares.

The transfer company should be able to explain what happened to the 200 shares that transferred in June 2009. Ask for copies of the statements from both the old and new transfer agents. If possible, it might be a good idea to do a conference call with both companies. In any case, I would speak with managers at both places and make sure you get their names.

It's harder to tell what is going on with the cash dividends. Are you sure the dividends were paid based on the mystery 200 shares or were they based on the certificate you have in hand or both? As the owner of record, you can still receive dividends even if the certificate is in your physical possession. I would ask for copies of statements.

And yes, you can just go to a broker and sell your stock, less commission and fees. (You actually get the cash 3 days later in most circumstances.) Why would there be fraud? Is the certificate in your name; do you have identification? It's pretty straight forward. They do this everyday; it's their raison d'etre.

One final thing, after a certain amount of time with no contact from a customer or account activity, financial firms are required to turn over 'abandoned' assets to the state. There should be a record of this. Get copies of statements.
posted by shoesietart at 6:48 AM on February 1, 2011