We understand that it has been some time since the shares were originally purchased last year and following the release of the crowdfunding share certificates last week and feedback from several investors, we felt it would be helpful to re-answer some of the questions you have been asking.
Overwhelmingly, the queries are already covered in the original Q&A we issued when the campaign first launched. That is still on our official club website and is well worth another read. You can find them by CLICKING HERE
However, we have highlighted below some of the main questions that are being asked at the moment below:
Q: What is the difference between share certificates and rewards?
A: Share certificates are issued by Seedrs and are assigned to the individual who made the investment. Share certificates won’t be issued to anyone who didn’t invest in the campaign.
Rewards such as plaques, scarfs and pins etc which come as part of your investment are issued by AFC Wimbledon. Whilst the shares themselves cannot be split, your overall investment can be split in to multiple rewards based on the amount you have invested or based on the number of investments that had been made by one investor. All investors will be able to gift those to their friends/family in whatever manner they choose to split their rewards. We will email investors with details on how they can do this and what they would like to add to various assets such as plaques.
Q: Why is my name spelled incorrectly on my certificate? Can I request a change and how?
A: The certificates are automatically generated based on the investor's name on Seedrs. You can ask for it to be corrected by getting in touch with Seedrs’ support team on support@seedrs.com.
Q: Can I buy shares as a gift?
A: Shares can't be gifted. The individual who owns the shares and holds the account on Seedrs will be the one who received the share certificate to cover the full amount they have invested.
Q: What if I wanted to buy shares for my children?
A: All investors had an option to make an investment on behalf of their children. This involved the parent legally making the investment decisions and being the beneficial owner of the shares on behalf of the child until they turn 18, at which time we can change the account. The process of making an investment on behalf of your child was clearly explained in the Crowdfunding Q&A under the following question:
Q: Can I buy shares for my children?
A: Yes. Accounts can be created on behalf of children. This will involve the parent legally making the investment decisions and being the beneficial owner of the shares on behalf of the child until they turn 18, at which time we can change the account. We'll need the child's details in order to create the account and you can do this for multiple children. They should contact Seedrs after creating an account under their name in order for this to be processed. We recommend that anyone who wants to do this gets in touch with support@seedrs.com or reaches out via the green live chat box in the bottom right-hand corner of the Seedrs page, and one of seedrs customer service people will assist you.
Q: When will I get my rewards?
A: Rewards will be assigned and distributed by AFC Wimbledon directly. The club will contact each investor individually via email to collect and confirm their details in coming weeks.
Q: The AFC Wimbledon crest is out of date on my certificate.
A: All certificates will be re-issued with the new AFC Wimbledon crest shortly by Seedrs.
Q: How does the nominee structure work? Are my shares safe?
A: Seedrs holds legal title of the shares while investors on the platform hold beneficial ownership. This means Seedrs is registered as the shareholder and will hold the shareholder rights in the company, e.g. voting rights, and will exercise these on behalf of investors as a whole.
Seedrs is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and has regulatory obligations to protect client assets, i.e. the shares they hold on your behalf. This means that if Seedrs goes bust, the shares are not treated as Seedrs' assets for distribution to creditors or Seedrs' shareholders.
Q: Can I vote my own shares? If not, how does Seedrs decide? Will Seedrs canvass the beneficial owners?
A: As part of investing through the Seedrs Nominee, investors assign certain powers to the nominee to act on their behalf, including voting on the beneficial owner's behalf. Seedrs' role is set out in the investment agreement that investors agree when they make an investment.
If you’d like to find out about the nominee structure and voting rights please contact Seedrs directly by emailing support@seedrs.com.