Today most shares are kept in paperless fashion and shareowners have the option to conveniently convert all valid certificates to Direct Registration. The Direct Registration form of ownership allows registered shareowners to maintain their shares in book-entry form without the need of a physical certificate. The shareowner retains full ownership of the shares without the responsibility of holding the actual certificate.

There are advantages to having your shares in DRS. The primary benefits are that it:

• saves you the burden of storing your certificate(s) in a safe place, i.e.safe deposit box or vault;
• eliminates the risk of potential loss thus avoiding the significant costs involved in replacing any lost, stolen, or destroyed certificates;
• eliminates the risk of fraudulent transfer of certificates;
• saves the costs associated with the issuance and delivery of physical stock certificates;
• makes your stock transactions faster and easier;
• saves you the inconvenience of delivering stock certificate(s) to your broker for sale or safekeeping; and
• allows for shares to be moved electronically to your brokerage account.