Retail investors often cite prospectuses as a major source of mailbox clutter. Fortunately, technology has created an attractive alternative—paperless delivery, also known as electronic delivery or e-delivery.
Pershing’s customers spent between $3 and $4 million in postage in 2010, all of which can potentially be saved when clients elect electronic delivery of prospectuses. This delivery method also represents a convenient way for clients to receive a wide variety of other financial documents, including proxy and shareholder communications, quarterly performance reports, tax documents and account notifications.
Going paperless offers investors numerous additional benefits, including reducing the risk of identity theft, since documents are no longer sent through the mail. But there are also less obvious advantages that investors may not realize, unless specifically communicated by advisors.
For example, paperless trade confirmations can make it easier to comply with recent changes in cost basis tax reporting requirements, which necessitate that the investor match their purchases to their sales by settlement date. Delivery of electronic confirmations is almost immediate, so there is no need for investors to wait for physical delivery.
Electronic delivery reduces the risk of lost or misplaced documents, including tax statements. These documents remain online for seven years, so whenever a tax document is needed, it can be viewed or printed at a client’s convenience. Paperless delivery also provides welcome flexibility, as investors can opt to access some financial documents electronically, while receiving others by mail, and their preferences can be adjusted at any time depending on their needs.
Pershing’s paperless delivery initiative is designed to provide the marketing support and operational insight to help our customers achieve their ongoing adoption efforts, while having a more positive effect on the environment. As a result of this initiative, Pershing, on behalf of our customers, has reduced paper usage enough to save more than 2,500 trees each year. And in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, more than 50,000 new trees have been planted in national forests and other areas slated for conservation.
Electronic delivery provides a meaningful platform for improving our environment, while also creating significant savings that can be reinvested in even more solutions to support and grow your business. To further support paperless delivery, we offer a turnkey marketing program that helps to promote e-delivery directly to your clients.
For more information about paperless delivery and effective e-delivery promotion methods used by your industry peers, download Driving e-Delivery Adoption Best Practices. Or visit https://www.pershing.com/go_paperless.html.