Assignment
The person selling a security must sign the security certificate to constitute good delivery. Usually, it is signed on the back of the security and sent to the purchaser by registered mail. Another method is to enter the name of a third party, usually the purchaser, on the certificate to safeguard the security in transit. The seller would sign and deliver a power of substitution when it delivers the stock.
For proper assignment, the signatures on the back must exactly match the name that is printed on the front of the certificate. If the person has legally changed his or her name and the old name is on the certificate, the person must sign his or her old name, then his or her new name and add “one and the same person.”
Where there are multiple certificates, each one must be accompanied by an assignment. However, a separate piece of paper may be substituted, if all the relevant information from the back of the certificate is included on the paper (irrevocable appointment of attorney with power of substitution and a full description of the security including the issuer’s name, issue, certificate number, and amount written in numbers and words). This detached assignment is called a stock power. A stock power can be used for multiple certificates for the same security, but different stock powers must be used for different securities.
To make sure that the signature will be acceptable to a transfer agent, the signature must be guaranteed by a bank or clearing firm that participates in the NYSE Medallion Program or a similar kind of program. This guarantee ensures that signatures of purchasers may not be