To clarify some of the different roles, here are some definitions from the following reputable sources:
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): “Companies that have publicly traded securities typically use transfer agents to keep track of the individuals and entities that own their stocks and bonds. Most transfer agents are banks or trust companies, but sometimes a company acts as its own transfer agent.
Transfer agents perform three main functions:
1. Issue and cancel certificates to reflect changes in ownership. For example, when a company declares a stock dividend or stock split, the transfer agent issues new shares. Transfer agents keep records of who owns a company’s stocks and bonds and how those stocks and bonds are held—whether by the owner in certificate form, by the company in book-entry form, or by the investor’s brokerage firm in street name. They also keep records of how many shares or bonds each investor owns.
2. Act as an intermediary for the company. A transfer agent may also serve as the company’s paying agent to pay out interest, cash and stock dividends, or other distributions to stock- and bondholders. In addition, transfer agents act as proxy agent (sending out proxy materials), exchange agent (exchanging a company’s stock or bonds in a merger), tender agent (tendering shares in a tender offer), and mailing agent (mailing the company’s quarterly, annual, and other reports).
3. Handle lost, destroyed, or stolen certificates. Transfer agents help shareholders and bondholders when a stock or bond certificate has been lost, destroyed, or stolen.
Wikipedia: “A stock transfer agent or share registry is a company, usually a third party unrelated to stock transactions, which cancels the name and certificate of the shareholder who sold the shares of stock, and substitutes the new owner’s name on the official master shareholder listing. Stock transfer agent is the term used in the United States and Canada. Share registry is used in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Transfer secretary is used in South Africa. Shares are issued in "street name" which is the term given to securities held in the name of a brokerage on behalf of a customer, usually done to facilitate subsequent transactions. Shares held in "Street name", usually Cede & Co. or DTC, refers to beneficial shareholders who maintain their ownership through a brokerage. Street name holders are the opposite of registered holders.”
Investopedia: A trust company, bank or similar financial institution assigned by a corporation to maintain records of investors and account balance and transactions, to cancel and issue certificates, to process investor mailings and to deal with any associated problems (i.e. lost or stolen certificates). Because publicly-traded companies, mutual funds and similar entities often have many investors who own a small portion of the organization, require accurate records and have rights regarding information provision, the role of the transfer agent is an important one. Some corporations choose to act as their own transfer agents, but most choose a third-party financial institution to fill the role.
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