Group Five Releases 2020 Results for Partial Administration Equity Compensation Plan Services

E*TRADE's Equity Edge Online has the highest administration system loyalty and overall satisfaction ratings for the ninth consecutive year.

UBS received the highest loyalty and overall satisfaction ratings for participant brokerage services.

News provided by

Group Five

Aug 31, 2020, 14:31 ET

NOVATO, Calif., Aug. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2020 Group Five Stock Plan Administration Benchmarking Study measures plan sponsor loyalty and satisfaction with partial administration equity compensation service providers who license their administration systems, and brokers who provide plan participant services. The partial administration service model allows plan sponsors to manage recordkeeping internally and contract with one or more brokers to service their plan participants.

This year's study sees a noteworthy upward trend for loyalty and overall satisfaction ratings with both stock plan administration systems and participant brokerage services among plan sponsors who utilize a partial administration solution. Group Five's analysis shows that continued enhancements to technology remain essential to partial administration clients.

According to Kathy Huston, President of Group Five, "Our analysis shows that plan sponsors who license an administration system are most likely to recommend their service provider if the system is easy to use with continuously improving technology. Brokerage clients' loyalty, on the other hand, is heavily dependent upon service providers' ability to quickly resolve issues and requests and provide added value."

Regarding satisfaction, plan sponsors were more satisfied with every aspect of the administration system measured in the study compared with last year, and many of the largest increases in satisfaction are directly related to platform technology. Overall satisfaction with participant brokerage services this year rose primarily as a result of significant increases in satisfaction with service providers' day-to-day operational support personnel and executive services.

STOCK PLAN ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS
E*TRADE's Equity Edge Online, for the ninth year in a row, received the highest loyalty rating for administration systems with an NPS* of 78, and the highest overall satisfaction rating of 94% favorable.

"Delivering cutting-edge technology solutions is engrained in our DNA," said Scott Whatley, President of E*TRADE Financial Corporation, Inc. "We pride ourselves on empowering clients to customize their experience to meet the unique needs of their administration and participants alike—from our newly launched API Developer Platform, to automated reporting functions, to our seamless participant experience. We're humbled to be recognized by Group Five's study for nearly a decade and excited to contribute to the future of equity compensation administration."

PARTICIPANT BROKERAGE SERVICES
UBS received the highest loyalty rating for participant brokerage services with an NPS of 83 and the highest overall satisfaction rating of 100% favorable, while Shareworks by Morgan Stanley has the second-highest overall satisfaction rating of 90% favorable and E*TRADE has the second-highest NPS at 68.

"UBS is pleased to be the only provider to receive 100% satisfaction for partial administration and be rated #1 in categories that support our long term vision and commitment to deliver financial education and guidance to all levels of employees, regardless of their age or income level. We are grateful for our clients who know and appreciate our human and digital approach, helping all employees engage with us how and when they want to," says Michael Barry, Head of UBS Workplace Wealth Services.

Now in its 22^nd year, the Group Five study includes responses from 336 public companies who use an administration system for internal recordkeeping, and 289 companies who use a broker for plan participant services. The study is the only independent forum for plan sponsors to confidentially express their opinions and priorities to service providers. To download a complimentary summary of the results by service provider, please visit Group Five's website.

Founded in 1990, Group Five Inc. is a corporate services research firm. Group Five, an industry leader in business-to-business loyalty and satisfaction research, is best known for research in stock plan administration and shareholder services.

* NPS®, Net Promoter® & Net Promoter Score® are a registered trademark of Fred Reichheld, Satmetrix, and Bain & Company. Net Promoter Scores range from -100 to +100 based upon the difference between the percent of promoter and detractor scores.

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

Company Contact:
Kathy Huston, 415.785.7983
[email protected]
www.groupfiveinc.com

SOURCE Group Five