Shareholder Services

FAQs: Learn more about Ever-Green, our suite of environmentally-friendly e-solutions

How does an issuer begin participating in The Ever-Green Program?

BNY Mellon Shareowner Services clients wishing to participate in our Ever-Green Program should contact their Relationship Manager for assistance. As a participant, your company will agree to give $1 for each of your shareowners that signs up for MLink^SM, our e-delivery system for paperless account statements, 1099 tax forms and other investor correspondence. These monies will go directly to The Nature Conservancy, a leading conservation organization. You may begin participating as early as the first of the next month.

The $1 per shareowner that the issuer gives to The Nature Conservancy is once per MLink election and is not based on ongoing MLink participation.

Tell me more about The Nature Conservancy.

We have teamed up with The Nature Conservancy, a leading conservation organization, to be an important part of our Ever-Green Program. Participating clients give $1 for each shareowner that consents to receive paperless account statements, 1099 tax forms and other investor correspondence. These monies go directly to The Nature Conservancy for their ongoing global efforts to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.

Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservancy:

• has protected more than 117 million acres of land and more than 5,000 river miles globally;
• addresses threats to conservation involving climate change, fire, fresh water, forests, invasive species, and marine ecosystems
• manages active projects in all 50 states and more than 30 countries
• uses a science-based approach, aided by more than 700 staff scientists
• pursues non-confrontational, pragmatic solutions to conservation challenges
• partners with indigenous communities, businesses, governments, multilateral institutions, other non-profits and individuals
• maintains an overhead of 12-17 percent, far less than the 25 percent maximum expense deemed acceptable by many non-profits.

Is the $1 per shareowner that the issuer gives to The Nature Conservancy a one-time payment for a shareowner's election to receive electronic distribution of investor materials?

Yes. There is only a one-time $1 payment per shareowner election.

As a participating client, how will I track shareowner registrations on MLink?

Participating clients are able to use Client ServiceDirect® (CSD) — our proprietary online management tool for clients, to access a report library. Included in this library is a report that reflects the current number of shareowners signed up to receive electronic delivery of investor materials.

How are the contributions collected and contributed to The Nature Conservancy?

BNY Mellon Shareowner Services will send the participant client a separate monthly invoice that will indicate the number of MLink registrations for that billing period. The client will then send a check, made payable to The Nature Conservancy, to BNY Mellon Shareowner Services. We will forward all checks to The Nature Conservancy.

Is there an annual cap for a participating client's Ever-Green contributions?

Shareowner Services does not impose an annual maximum on what participating clients may give to the Ever-Green Program. We do, however, understand that such a cap may be necessary on a client-by-client basis. For this reason, clients should contact their Relationship Manager any time they wish to discontinue and/or resume Ever-Green participation.

How will shareowners be encouraged to sign up for MLink?

An MLink pop-up window appears on the Investor ServiceDirect® (ISD) Web site — our proprietary online account management tool for shareowners. This pop-up message includes a link to the Ever-Green Web page available in the Shareholder Services section of the BNY Mellon Shareowner Services Web site. By clicking CONTINUE in the pop-up message, the shareowner will be guided through the online sign-up process for MLink.

Additionally, we provide an opportunity to learn more about Ever-Green through links provided on the Welcome to MLink page and the My Portfolio page on ISD.

Is there any cost to our shareowners that sign up to receive their investor materials electronically?

There is no cost for your shareowners to sign up for MLink. There may be a charge to the issuer for each MLink delivery. Please speak with your Relationship Manager for additional details.

How will our shareowners know if an issuer is participating in The Ever-Green Program e-delivery solution?

In time, shareowners will be able to view a list of participating issuers on our Ever-Green Web page.

Can shareowners sign up for MLink even if the issuer is not participating in Ever-Green?

Absolutely! We encourage all shareowners to sign up for our quicker paperless delivery of investor materials via MLink, even if your company chooses not to participate in the Ever-Green Program. By participating, however, The Nature Conservancy will benefit by your company giving $1 for each of its shareowners that signs up for MLink.

BNY Mellon Shareowner Services proudly supports The Nature Conservancy with our Ever-Green Program and has contributed $50,000 towards conservation.

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