Who Is A Nominee Shareholder?

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A Nominee Shareholder is someone who lends their name to you to act as the registered owner of company shares, and will appear to be the owner of the shares. Appointing a Nominee Shareholder keeps the beneficial shareholder’s personal information away from public records. If you are a popular figure or a celebrity, you may not want the public to know the details of the companies you own.

The Nominee Shareholder will retain all the rights and benefits of the shares, such as voting at general meetings, receiving dividends and rights to sell the shares, though at Accela we are able to circumnavigate these rights and benefits by introducing a Declaration of Trust - more details on that below.

A Nominee Shareholder can be a corporate or an individual authorised by the Beneficial Owner, however, they do not get involved in running the business. The Nominee shareholder’s identity is recorded with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. At Accela we provide an individual Nominee Shareholder so you don’t have to worry about finding one on your own.

How to Appoint a Nominee Shareholder

All you need to register a Nominee Shareholder is the Beneficial Owner’s name, address, and the number and value of shares you wish to allocate to them.

To protect our Nominee Shareholder as well as the Beneficial Owner’s interest in the shares, at Accela we prepare a Declaration of Trust (“DOT”) when appointing a Nominee Shareholder. Both the Beneficial Shareholder and the Nominee Shareholder will sign these agreements, affirming that the Nominee Shareholder is not the lawful owner and has no authority over the shares. The DOT will also confirm that all capital and income remunerations on the shares belong to the Beneficial Owner. This is a strictly private and confidential document and it will not be released to third parties unless requested by the Beneficial Owner.

As there are risks involved for the Nominee Shareholder and in order to be familiar with the company’s financial standing as well the structure, we would be required to be the Corporate Secretary of the company if you hire Accela to appoint your Nominee Shareholder.

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Want to learn more? Get in touch with our expert Corporate Secretary team for an introductory call or meeting: [email protected]