Corporate issuers rate satisfaction with shareholder location and asset recovery service providers -- Keane receives highest ratings for 4th consecutive year

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Oct 07, 2013, 08:00 ET

FAIRFAX, Calif., Oct. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Group Five today announced the results of its annual study of corporate opinions of services provided by shareholder location and asset recovery firms. The study is based on survey responses from 860 corporations — representing over 30 million registered shareowners. The study provides the only independent forum for corporate clients to make their opinions known to service providers.

For the fourth year in a row Keane received the highest client satisfaction ratings with a favorable rating of 93%, which is five points above last year. Keane also received the highest issuer loyalty rating at 78% favorable.

Jack Sunday, COO, Group Five pointed out, "The states are relentless in their efforts to support their budgets by seizing shareholder assets. An effective shareholder location and asset recovery process is a must-have these days to support shareholders and satisfy state auditors."

"We are honored to have received the highest rating in Group Five's study for the fourth consecutive year. Once again, the results reflect our company's outstanding performance, dedication, and passion," said Mike O'Donnell, Keane CEO. "We are especially proud of the fact that not only did we rank the highest, but we improved upon our rating from last year. That continuous improvement and commitment to providing exceptional service to our clients is what allows Keane to be the country's only comprehensive provider of unclaimed property services. We value the clients that entrust their shareholders to us and appreciate being rated the provider with the highest issuer loyalty for our service."

Keane credits the depth and breadth of their experience as one of the primary drivers of success year after year. "We are fortunate to have numerous industry experts across the securities, banking, brokerage, mutual fund, and insurance industries," said O'Donnell. Their knowledge and experience is an irreplaceable resource for the growth and performance for the future of Keane. We are aware that the expectations will continue to rise from both clients and competitors, but we welcome the challenge with great enthusiasm. We're going to keep pushing ourselves to improve and further enhance our service offerings to remain the industry leader. We will continue to provide the same excellent service that allows our clients to protect their shareholders, minimize risk, and ensure compliance in a turbulent regulatory environment."

The 2013 Group Five Shareholder Services study shows that 25% of issuers conduct proactive shareowner location and risk review programs which is double last year's number of less than 12%. Even with this increase there are still many companies who are not assessing the audit risk created by "past-due" property or following best practices to reduce the volume of accounts that escheat each year. Jack Sunday commented, "While most transfer agents handle the escheatment process well, issuers are often not paying attention to the advantages that shareholder location and asset recovery services can have on the escheatment process. Our recommendation is that issuers engage directly with shareholder location and asset recovery service providers like Keane to protect issuers' interests and enable issuers to effectively meet fiduciary responsibilities."

Group Five is a consulting and market research firm located in Fairfax, California. The firm is best known for its consulting and market research expertise in shareholder services and stock plan administration services.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release or Group Five survey results without the express prior written consent of Group Five.

SOURCE Group Five