Computershare Launches Gems Solution to Help Private Companies Manage Investors, Self-Administer Employee Equity and Easily Navigate Regulatory Compliance

Research from global market leader shows private companies cite tracking investment and managing investors as biggest challenges

Computershare (ASX:CPU) has announced the launch of the GEMS^pm solution: a digital, single platform designed to help growing private companies more easily manage investor and employee equity as well as to simplify entity-related compliance.

The launch follows research from the global market leader that found that, in a survey of 700 executives at North American private companies, 70% cited tracking outside investment as a key challenge for their business, with more than 60% saying that managing and communicating with investors was also a key ‘pain point’.

Naz Sarkar, global CEO, Issuer Services at Computershare, said: “The GEMS^pm solution can ‘power up’ private companies as they grow by helping them meet equity, investor and integrated registered agent needs all in one place through tailored services that suit their business.

”Our research has shown that chief financial officers and founder-owners are looking for a solution that enables them to focus on growth when needed – as well as keeping pace with the complexities of entity and equity compliance, from startup to their IPO and beyond.

“Although also useful to established businesses, the system should particularly appeal to start-ups, as they can sign up for core services and add more as they grow and succeed.”

Computershare says that the GEMS^pm solution represents the latest edition to its portfolio of sophisticated services for private markets and is based on the knowledge and extensive RegTech and ‘software as a service’ (SaaS) expertise it has built up over many years operating in public markets.

The GEMS^pm solution enables private companies to:

• Sign up for free online and set up a cap table within minutes of logging in
• Upgrade for additional features with a credit card
• Manage all services through an integrated dashboard
• See at a glance the trade-off between funding and loss of equity
• View who gets what and when during funding rounds, sales or mergers
• Consolidate vendors by adding registered agent services to their platform (U.S. only)
• Self-administer employee equity programs, which can help attract and retain talent
• Quickly access multi-channel support through phone, email and chat

Computershare said it was launching its GEMS^pm solution via a distinctive social media-led marketing campaign showing the challenges of having a ‘real’ baby unicorn loose in an office: mirroring the hard work that goes into raising the next ‘unicorn’ company (a private company valued at $1 billion or more).

Computershare has supported over 1,600 private companies in the U.S. with a variety of administrative services, covering their early stages of development through to direct listings and IPOs.