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The statements of Broadridge's CEO about the company's technology development efforts, reported below, are presented following the article from a transcript published by SeekingAlpha.  An archived webcast of the August 14, 2008 quarterly conference call for analysts is available on the Broadridge web site.

Information about the reported iMiners technology, which is currently offered, can be found on their web site for "eShareholderForum."

The Shareholder Forum has no commitments or financial interests in these or any competing communications technologies, but expects to explore their possible applications to Forum processes.

For other reports and legal views relating to SEC encouragement of electronic communication technologies for shareholder communications, see

 

Investor Relations Magazine, August 21, 2008 article

 

Crossbow logo

 
Broadridge plans shareholder e-forum

 

Aug 21, 2008

 

CEO sees project as ‘unique’ rival to investor chat rooms

NEW YORK -- Broadridge Financial Solutions, the technology outsourcing company, plans to launch an electronic shareholder forum that distinguishes itself from other online investment forums by validating participants as genuine shareholders.

The company revealed the project – which it is calling Investor Network – in an earnings call last week. ‘We are uniquely positioned to create a vibrant social network that validates real shareholders while allowing both anonymity and accountability for any statements made online,’ said Broadridge CEO Richard Daly on the call.

Broadridge’s proposal carries weight because the company has a virtual monopoly over the retail shareholder communications market in the US, a result of its extensive links with brokerage firms.

In the call, Daly said the SEC might decide shareholders have the right to discuss their investments online in a secure environment. ‘If that was the case, I can’t see it getting done in any way other than through the plumbing we have in place,’ he commented. Daly confirmed he has had meetings with SEC staff and chairman Christopher Cox on the topic.

Daly added, however, that Investor Network is still ‘early in its development’ and experts working with Broadridge differ on the project’s potential.

The SEC has been encouraging companies to set up e-shareholder forums on their own websites for some time. In February, it changed its rules on web disclosure to remove some of the liability issues that held firms back from communicating with shareholders online.

‘E-shareholder forums are soon going to become a common communications medium for shareholders and companies,’ predicts Michael O’Brien, vice president of sales at iMiners, a technology company that sets up e-forums on company websites.

‘The trend of companies using electronic shareholder forums to communicate with shareholders via web 2.0 technology will continue to accelerate, and we believe forums will become standard on company IR websites in the near future.’

By Tim Human

 

 

© copyright 2008 Cross Border Ltd

Seeking Alpha

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. F4Q08 (Qtr End 06/30/08) Earnings Call Transcript

Executives

Marvin Sims – VP, IR
Rich Daly – CEO
Dan Sheldon – VP and CFO

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Presentation

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Rich Daly

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I believe one of the new and exciting opportunities is around what we're calling the Investor Network. It's really unusual for us to be talking about something so early in its development, but the range of this opportunity could be anything from negligible to a unique and meaningful financial social network which could be really big. The Investor Network is an online electronic form that will facilitate shareholder to shareholder communications with a unique feature that will differentiate it from the chat rooms in existence today. Investors who use our Investor Network will be validated as real shareholders. This feature will not only enhance shareholder to shareholder communications, but it will provide a new channel of communication between shareholders and companies.
 
When the SEC expressed a desire to enable better communications between shareholders using today's online technology, Broadridge stepped up to help provide a workable solution by leveraging our unique capabilities. The Investor Network will validate shareholders through the core plumbing [ph] of the Investor Communications segment while allowing institutional, retail and professional investors to remain anonymous. We are uniquely positioned to create a vibrant social network that validates real shareholders while allowing both anonymity and accountability for any statements made online.
 
Through providing industry-wide technology-based solutions for Notice & Access, summary prospectus and the new Investor Networks, we continue to demonstrate that we are in the communications solution business and it's so much more than merely an ink on paper or physical distribution business.
 

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