Book entry is a system of tracking ownership of securities where no certificate is given to investors. In the case of book-entry-only (BEO) issues, while investors do not receive certificates, a custodian holds one or more global certificates. Dematerialized securities, in contrast are ones in which no certificates exist, instead, the security issuer or its agent keeps records, usually electronically, of who holds outstanding securities.
Most investors who use an online broker or even a regular full-service broker will have their shares held in book-entry form. This is generally convenient, as one does not have to preserve physical stock certificates, and can buy/sell securities without turning certificates in or having new ones issued. Also, replacement costs for certificates are high in case one loses them, while book-entry ownership can never be lost thanks to technological backups.
Read more about Book Entry: Direct Registration System
Famous quotes containing the words book and/or entry:
“There ain’t nothing more to write about, and I am rotten glad of it, because if I’d a knowed what a trouble it was to make a book I wouldn’t a tackled it, and I ain’t agoing to no more.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“All mothers need instruction, nurturing, and an understanding mentor after the birth of a baby, but in this age of fast foods, fast tracks, and fast lanes, it doesn’t always happen. While we live in a society that provides recognition for just about every life event—from baptisms to bar mitzvahs, from wedding vows to funeral rites—the entry into parenting seems to be a solo flight, with nothing and no one to mark formally the new mom’s entry into motherhood.”
—Sally Placksin (20th century)