Shareholder Of Record

The shareholder of record is the person named on the company's books as owning one or more shares of that company's stock. Dividends or any other distributions made by the company are only made to the shareholder of record. The shareholder of record should not be confused with the beneficial owner of shares. The beneficial owner receives the benefits of stock ownership without being the shareholder of record. A beneficial owner may create a shareholder of record (often a child or other family member or a corporation) for tax or other purposes. Brokerage houses often keep shares in a "street name" rather than the name of the shareholder of record in order to facilitate future transactions. A shareholder of record may also be called a holder or owner of record.