Can I get my stock certificates if I want them?

You can get the physical stock certificates if you want to secure them yourselves. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages to holding the stock certificates. You will need to analyze whether it is best for your situation to hold your stock certificates or let your brokerage hold them for you.

Stock is how a company sells shares of ownership. They do this in order raise capital to start business or make needed purchases. You can own a portion of the company by purchasing their stock. As a stock owner or holder of record your stock certificate signifies ownership in the company and represents a claim on part of the corporation's assets and earnings. When they issue the stock it can be issued as a certificate. Most often all of this happens electronically.

In other words, a shareholder is an owner of a company. Ownership is determined by the number of shares a person owns relative to the number of outstanding shares. For example, if a company has 1,000 shares of stock outstanding and one person owns 100 shares, that person would own and have claim to 10% of the company's assets

When you become a shareholder and purchase a security, whether through your broker or from the company itself, you may request the actual stock certificates sent to you. Historically, all stocks were issued in this manner. However, with technology today the preferred method is now to have the transaction completely electronic. You would never see the certificate and the brokerage would not hold one on your behalf.

Requesting a certificate today may require you to pay a nominal fee for the added expense of issuing the paper certificate. It is very important that you secure your certificates until you sell or transfer your stock certificates. Proving ownership for stock certificates you once owned that has been lost, stolen, or destroyed may be difficult.

If you lose or your certificate is stolen, your broker will most likely charge a fee to replace the lost certificate. You may purchase your stock from a transfer agent or directly from the company. Generally they will charge a fee to replace the missing certificate if they are able to replace it at all.

The advantages of holding a physical certificate include:

• The company knows how to reach you and will send all company reports and other information to you directly.
• You may find it easier to pledge your securities as collateral for a loan if you hold the certificates yourself in physical certificate form.


• The disadvantages include:
• When you want to sell your stock, you will have to send the certificate to your broker or the company's transfer agent to execute the sale. This may make it harder for you to sell quickly.

• If you lose your certificate, you may be charged a fee for a replacement certificate.
• If you move, you will have to contact the company with your change of address so that you do not miss any important mailings.

So, you must decide what you are going to do with the stock certificates before requesting them. If you intend to trade the certificates periodically, then you will incur more costs and more headaches buying and selling them. Every time you want to exchange your stocks the certificates will have to be sent to the brokerage and this will take up to several days. Often days can make a huge difference in your profits or losses when dealing in the stock market.

However, if you intend to buy and hold for long periods of time, you may wish to request the stock certificates be sent directly to you. This means the company will deal directly with you in their communications and you will not need to worry about a brokerage `accidentally' losing things.

In summary, you can request to have your stock certificates sent to you so you can hold them. However, you must secure them and understand that selling them will take more time than a few clicks of a mouse. Most people, however, do not ask to have the physical stock certificates.

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