American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC (AST) provides comprehensive stock transfer and employee plan services to over 2,800 public companies and maintains approximately 6,000 issues. Our clients are located throughout the United States and in over 22 foreign countries, ranging in size from initial public offerings to Fortune 100 companies. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in New York, AST provides clients with customized solutions to fit their specific needs along with access to the best systems, services, processes and products available today — around the globe.
AST is privately owned by Pacific Equity Partners (PEP), a large private equity firm based in Australia. PEP's resources allowed AST to expand its powerful technology platform and operating systems, while incorporating the best-in-class performance metrics of Link Market Services, a leading international shareholder services company also owned by PEP.
AST has an international presence in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. This global presence allows AST to provide its clients who have increasingly expanded their operations beyond the domestic market with a fully integrated global equities servicing solution.
We continually cultivate opportunities to expand our core business through strategic business investments. These include acquisitions or the introduction of products that allow us to better service our clients. In November 2010, Canadian Stock Transfer Company Inc. (CST) was launched following the purchase of CIBC Mellon's Issuer Services stock transfer and employee plan business. CST joined AST to offer fully-integrated cross-border coverage. As a single entity, AST and CST is the largest independent transfer agent in North America, serving over 8,000 public issues and over 5.5 million shareholders.
In February 2011, AST acquired the operating businesses of AST Fund Solutions, LLC, formerly known as The Altman Group, an established preeminent firm in the mutual fund proxy solicitation, shareholder identification, and corporate governance arenas. Through a team of professionals with more than 200 years of collective expertise, AST offers clients premier full-service mutual fund proxy solicitation and advisory services.
In August 2010, AST acquired Phoenix Advisory Partners, a leading provider of proxy solicitation and corporate governance advisory services as a natural extension of our core proxy solutions. In June of 2012, the company was renamed to AST Phoenix Advisors and CST Phoenix Advisors, providing services to corporate issuers throughout the United States and Canada, respectively.
In June 2010, AST launched LINK Shareholder Services, LLC (LINK), a dedicated asset recovery services business. Through LINK, AST helps issuers preserve their corporate equity with a broad range of escheatment and unclaimed property solutions.
As part of its commitment to the business, AST participates in the leading industry associations and attends several events throughout the year, including active participation with the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals, the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP), Shareholder Services Association (SSA) and the National Investment Company Service Association (NICSA). AST's President and CEO, Mark Healy, currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Securities Transfer Association (STA) and its senior management serves on several industry-working committees.