Shareholder Perks

The term “shareholder perks” denotes goods and services offered to shareholders. Unlike dividends, shareholder perks take the form of goods rather than cash.

Shareholder perks may include complimentary use of services, vouchers, discounts and complimentary food and beverages. A common example of shareholder perks are the buffets, meals, refreshments, gifts and product samples which some companies offer their shareholders at annual general meetings.

To benefit from shareholder perks, an entry in the share register is required. In Switzerland, shareholder perks are sometimes only given to shareholders which participate in annual general meetings. In this way, Swiss companies use shareholder perks to encourage active shareholder participation.

More on this topic:
Shareholder perks: AGM freebies compared
Dividends explained
Interactive broker comparison
Swiss stocks: How to profit from dividends