Street name

The common arrangement in which a broker or its custodian appears on a company's share register while your entitlement is recorded as a book entry in the broker's own records.

Example

Your 1,000 shares are held by the broker's nominee company; the issuer's register shows the nominee, not you.

Important

It does not dilute your ownership, but it does place an intermediary between you and the register - which is why the broker's regulatory standing matters, and why dividend and voting instructions flow through the broker.

Related terms

• Brokerage account — An account with a regulated firm that holds your cash and securities and routes your orders to trading venues on your behalf.
• Custody — The safekeeping of securities by a regulated institution on behalf of their beneficial owner, including holding the record of ownership and processing corporate actions.
• Voting rights — The right attached to most ordinary shares to vote on certain corporate matters - electing directors, approving mergers, and sometimes executive pay - usually one vote per share.

Lessons that explain it

• What a share actually is: last in line, and why that is the point — A share of common stock is a residual claim - everything that is left after every other claimant has been paid. That single fact explains most of what equities do. (9 min)

All 578 terms in the Investing glossary