Medallion Signature Guarantees

Jim Murphy owned Vodafone shares because of his original investment in Telecom Éireann (now Eircom). When Verizon Communications Inc was split from Vodafone in 2014, he found himself with a modest number of shares in Verizon. Listed on the New York stock exchange, he had unwittingly become an overseas shareholder of US listed stock. In his later years, and in declining health, he took no action to sell the shares, and did not realise the significance of the removal of the shares from a United Kingdom registrar to one in the USA, and the consequences this may later have for his estate. Those consequences came to light when Jim’s widow instructed her solicitor to sell the shares. They had no idea of the headache that was to follow… First off and in good faith, the solicitor wrote to the US transfer agent (or share registrar) with a copy of the death certificate, to let them know that Jim had died and that his widow wished to transfer his shares into her name. They received an automated, generic letter listing the documents that would need to be submitted in order to transfer the shares into a different name. These included a “Court Order…or Letters Testamentary”, an IRS tax form, an “Affidavit in Lieu of a Federal Transfer Certificate” and a Medallion Guarantee Stamped transfer request (or stock power) form. Neither the solicitor nor the widow had heard of a Medallion Guarantee Stamp, and the list of documents was confusing. Suddenly this was looking like a complicated procedure. The solicitor identified conferred with a colleague who put her onto Louise Levene at Finders International, whose International Asset Services team brings a wealth of experience to dealing with overseas assets of all kinds. For a one-off fee, Louise and her team were able to prepare the necessary documents ready for signature, obtain the Medallion Guarantee stamp, liaise with the US authorities and in a matter of a few months the US shares were transferred out of Jim’s name, and sold. His widow received €9,562.50 into her account. She did not re-invest the money in US stock… Finders can assist with the sale or transfer of US shares: prices for this work usually start at approximately €850 plus VAT and disbursements. Please contact us to request a quote.

When Sarah divorced, she thought it would be simple to transfer her late father’s shares, a wedding gift to her many years previously, back into her maiden name. She wrote to the transfer agent (share registrar) with the relevant documents, but the response, several weeks later, was an automated letter telling her that she needed to obtain a Medallion Guarantee Stamp on the transfer document, before the name on the share certificate could be transferred into her sole name. A Medallion Guarantee Stamp is a special guarantee for the transfer of securities for all US and Canadian shares, which affirms that the person transferring the shares is able to do so. US regulations stipulate that without this stamp the shares cannot change name or ownership. Sarah researched all the information she could find about obtaining a Medallion Guarantee Stamp, including how much they cost and who offered to obtain them for shareholders living outside of North America. She settled upon Finders International because they were the most friendly and efficient when she contacted them. It was also helpful that they were able to take payment in Euros, as they have an office in Dublin. Sarah sent in the required documents, which included various forms of identification and the transfer request form supplied by the transfer agent, and within a matter of days the Medallion Guarantee stamped document was on its way back to her. She was then able to re-apply to have the shares changed into her sole name. Finders can also help you with the full process of transferring or selling US stock. For more information please contact us.