Street Name

I would like to throw a new idea about the representation of shareholders in the SL Capital Markets out there. Ironically, this idea is currently in place and my suggestion is to remove some of it (how's that for backwards!). The idea is registered shareholders, and my suggestion is to add shares in street name to the mixture.

First, why? There has been longstanding debate between (long-term) investors and (short-term) day traders in the SL Capital Markets. I think both sides have their merits (and profitability) but its clear that the interests of the two parties are entirely different. A day trader probably isn't interested in long-term matters of the corporation, whereas an investor is very interested in those issues.

So what does adding street name do? If investors could voluntarily register their shares with a corporation, then that corporation would know it needs to pay attention to them because they're interested for the long haul. If the shares are in street name, then the company can be less concerned (not unconcerned, but less so) with these shares, because they will change hands frequently. As to voting, I think the street name share should abstain from votes, since that is basically why they are street name shares.

There should also be some (nominal) fee and some incentive to registering shares: the fee to show you're serious, the incentive to reap the benefits thereof. Perhaps a fee of L$10, but then you have the ability to sell share directly to the company during a buyback, or they refund part of your trading fees if you sell directly to the corporate treasury. Obviously this would require some changes to existing exchange coding, but I think there are benefits to be had as well.

Thoughts?