Share Ask FAQs

What is Share Ask?
Share Ask simplifies corporate communication by making it easier for you to communicate with companies you own. Additionally, we designed Share Ask to make corporate-investor communication transparent and standardized. From the Sharegate corporate pages, a member can seamlessly communicate with any company traded on major U.S. stock exchanges without leaving Sharegate. Shareholders no longer have to look up investor relations contact information; these channels are built into Share Ask.

How do I use the Share Ask application?
Share Ask is accessed primarily from the corporate profile page. You can also access Share Ask via the Share Ask Forum. Clicking on the Share Ask icon will present a template that you can use to submit your inquiry. When you submit your inquiry, it is sent to the company investor relations department. Additionally, members who own or are "Watching" the concerned corporation see that the inquiry has been submitted via their dashboards. The inquiry is also posted on the associated corporation's profile page and begins a new thread within the Share Ask Forum.

How am I notified when a company responds?
The company's response is posted on the corporate profile page of the company involved, within the Share Ask Forum as part of the original thread, and on the dashboards of the owners and members who are "Watching" the company. Additionally, via the notification settings on your personal profile page you can ask to receive an email when a response is received.

What about material events or disclosure requirements? How is the company expected to respond?
Proper disclosure rules remain in effect whether a corporation responds via email, a newspaper, a press release, or via Sharegate. Sharegate is simply an additional avenue companies and shareholders can use to communicate. Companies respond on Sharegate just as they would in any other situation. If a shareholder asks a question that cannot be answered due to disclosure requirements, the company would respond accordingly. The transparent nature of Share Ask will allow all shareholders to see what inquiries are submitted to the company, and how they respond. Over time, visibility of these exchanges will allow shareholders to learn the rules and gain a better understanding of what kinds of questions can be answered by the company.

I am not sure if I want the rest of the network to see my question. Is there a way to use Share Ask without everyone seeing my question?
No. Chances are that, if you have a question, another shareholder likely has the same question. By asking your question through Share Ask, all interested parties have an opportunity to learn from this exchange. Also, asking questions openly will result in fewer redundant questions.


What is an Insufficient Response Report and how is one generated?
Share Ask allows the company seven days to respond to any inquiry. If the company does not respond within seven days, an Insufficient Response (IR) Report is generated. IR Reports are viewable by all owners via their dashboards. In addition, IR Reports are posted alongside the original thread in the Share Ask Forum and on the corporation's profile page.

What is the purpose of an IR Report?
The primary purpose of an IR Report is to notify shareholders that a corporate investor relations department has failed to respond to a shareholder's inquiry. Additionally, an IR Report results in a reduced Communication Performance Score (CPS) for the concerned corporation.

What are Communication Performance Scores and how are they determined?
Communication Performance Scores measure a company's responsiveness. All companies start with a perfect score and maintain that unless IR Reports are generated. A corporation that answers all inquires within seven days will maintain a score of 100. A corporation who repeatedly exceeds the seven-day time requirement or does not respond will receive a lower score and grade.

What do high or low Communication Performance Scores indicate?
High scores may be indicative of a responsive and efficient investor relations department. Low scores may be indicative of an investor relations department experiencing communication challenges or an unwillingness to communicate with its shareholders. The CPS system merely provides shareholders a metric that measures this responsiveness.

What about companies that do not maintain a Sharegate membership? Does Share Ask still work?
Yes, Share Ask and all the software applications on Sharegate work independently of any Corporate membership.