FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 30, 2009

GROUP FIVE Reports Findings from the
2009 Shareowner Services Corporate Satisfaction Study:
American Stock Transfer Achieves Top Ratings.

Summary: GROUP FIVE has completed its annual study of United States corporate managers’ opinions of the services provided by security transfer agents. Over 1,200 companies participated in the study. The highest rated of the largest agents was Computershare Investor Services with an 81% favorable rating. American Stock Transfer was the highest rated of the mid-size agents and the highest overall with 96% of clients rating them favorably. The industry rating of 84% favorable marks the first improvement in scores since the massive industry consolidation of several years ago.

PRINCETON, NJ – October 30, 2009 -- GROUP FIVE, a consulting and corporate services research company, today announced the results of its annual study of corporate opinions of services provided by United States security transfer agents. The annual study, which has been measuring client satisfaction since 1990, had 1,225 corporations participate — representing over 33 million registered shareowners. The study provides the only reliable and independent forum for corporate clients to make their opinions and priorities known to service providers.

Overall client satisfaction with transfer agents increased three percentage points from last year to 84% favorable. Annual meeting services and dividend processing services were highest rated at 93% and 92% favorable, respectively. Satisfaction with transfer agent fees was rated lowest at 63%, a three percentage point improvement from last year.

Large Agent Segment
Computershare Investor Services received the highest ratings for overall client satisfaction among agents servicing over 10 million accounts, with a favorable rating of 81%. BNY Mellon Shareowner Services was second highest with 79%.

Kathy Huston, Research Director, GROUP FIVE pointed out, “Computershare and BNY Mellon continue to show improvement in almost every area of the study. Both organizations have come through their mergers with improved services for both corporate clients and well as individual investors.”

Consolidation among the U.S. transfer agents continued this year with the purchase of National City Bank’s stock transfer business by Computershare.

Mid-size Agent Segment
In the category of those transfer agents servicing between 2.5 and 10 million shareholder accounts, the top rated agent was once again American Stock Transfer and Trust. It received the highest score for overall client satisfaction with a favorable rating of 96%. Wells Fargo was second highest with a 92% overall satisfaction rating.

“The investment by Pacific Equity Partners in American Stock Transfer has greatly expanded the opportunities and potential for AST. Wells Fargo continues to achieve high ratings while experiencing significant growth in its client base. Both of these agents excel in their focus on client satisfaction,” said Kathy Huston.

The study measures satisfaction in three major services provided by shareholder services firms. These are: account administration, issuer services, and shareholder services. In addition, the study evaluates satisfaction with the cost of services, both fees and out-of-pocket expenses, as well as corporate loyalty to service providers.

The study included the six largest transfer agents, in terms of the number of shareholder accounts managed. They are: BNY Mellon Shareowner Services, Computershare Investor Services, Wells Fargo Shareowner Services, American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, Registrar and Transfer, and National City Bank.

GROUP FIVE is a consulting and customer research firm located in Princeton, New Jersey. The firm is best known for its consulting and research expertise in shareholder services and equity compensation 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, Inc.
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