transferring shares out of ComputerShare?

[Spock]

Long, long, ago in a galaxy far, far, away...
My former employer had an employee stock ownership plan, the shares of which are held at ComputerShare.
The company recently spun off a couple of divisions into a new company and gave all share holders X number of shares in the new company.
I received a whopping 2 (two) shares and the share price of the new company ~$10/share. So the value is <$21.
ComputerShare wants to charge $25 in fees plus 0.12/share to sell the shares.
I thought I'd transfer the shares to Fidelity... gotta up my holdings at Fido to get Turbo Tax free next year. But the ComputerShare "Transfer Wizard" seems to only facilitate transfers to a new owner within ComputerShare. I haven't found anything to leave ownership the same and transfer them out of ComputerShare

Has any body transferred shares out of ComputerShare to your broker?
If so, how did you do it?

 

[MarieIG]

Yep. Toddled on down to the broker and had them fill out the paperwork, and I signed it.

I was not aware of being charged a fee ...

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Can’t Fidelity pull them out? When I do transfers, I usually have the desired destination broker pull them.

 

[Spock]

Can’t Fidelity pull them out? When I do transfers, I usually have the desired destination broker pull them.

I'm trying a pull now... the original + the spin off company. Some of the original shares are restricted such that Fidelity doesn't want/can't transfer them so I was hoping to push the eligible shares. Guess I'll see if ComputerShare can figure it which will work. ComputerShare just seems like a very unwieldy set of restrictions... you would think the original employer that issued the shares would use the same broker for ESOP/ESPP that runs the 401K... but I guess ComputerShare runs for all shareholders and not just employee shareholders.

 

[MRG]

I'm trying a pull now... the original + the spin off company. Some of the original shares are restricted such that Fidelity doesn't want/can't transfer them so I was hoping to push the eligible shares. Guess I'll see if ComputerShare can figure it which will work. ComputerShare just seems like a very unwieldy set of restrictions... you would think the original employer that issued the shares would use the same broker for ESOP/ESPP that runs the 401K... but I guess ComputerShare runs for all shareholders and not just employee shareholders.

ComputerShare is the transfer agent, the system of record used by the public company, the shares are registered there either in your name or the street name. The broker is just a brokerage.

 

[jim584672]

The shares are probably in Computershare's name so they can't be transferred or traded outside of Computershare. They need to be in Cede & Co. (street name) so they can be available to Wall Street.

 

[ncbill]

My Fidelity rep handled all my transfers from other brokerages including Computershare when I setup my accounts with them via the local office back just a few years ago.

 

[big8pointer]

I did. I had 2 equities held in Computershare and wanted all the shares of each transferred to my TD Ameritrade account. TD has form that I filled out and simply fax'd back to TD and they did the transfer. Easy!

 

[Spock]

The "pull" from Fidelity vs. the push from ComputerShare worked... even somewhat faster than expected.

 

[MarieIG]

The "pull" from Fidelity vs. the push from ComputerShare worked... even somewhat faster than expected.

Yep. Those brokers are good at pulling out funds. As son #3 would say "It's what they do!"

 

[G-Man]

The "pull" from Fidelity vs. the push from ComputerShare worked... even somewhat faster than expected.

Were the shares in ComputerShare from an Employer Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)? If yes, I heard that the transfer must be initiated by ComputerShare.

That is what ComputerShare is telling me. The transfer of shares from my ESPP that is held at ComputerShare needs to be initiated by ComputerShare to Fidelity. Based on your experience, it looks like ComputerShare is not telling me the truth. I will ask Fidelity whether they can pull the shares into my brokerage account.

 

[Spock]

Were the shares in ComputerShare from an Employer Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)? If yes, I heard that the transfer must be initiated by ComputerShare.

That is what ComputerShare is telling me. The transfer of shares from my ESPP that is held at ComputerShare needs to be initiated by ComputerShare to Fidelity. Based on your experience, it looks like ComputerShare is not telling me the truth. I will ask Fidelity whether they can pull the shares into my brokerage account.

I might have screwed up when I answered the questions. The shares were from an ESOP, not an ESPP but I think I clicked ESPP.
Given what I've seen from ComputerShare, I would just start the pull at Fidelity and let Fidelity tell you they can't do it. It's all online self-serve at Fido with no phone call/human interaction required.
"Ask for foregivness vs ask for permission"...

 

[Texas Proud]

Oh yea.... easy peasy transfer to FIDO... but that was after my first sale at the $25 plus...


I have since sold all the shares for free.... they were in an estate...