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Should my company have a shareholder or security holder deed?

2 May 2021

When starting your business and looking at startup funding options, you may consider a shareholder's deed. 

Or, alternatively, you may consider a shareholder's deed if you have 2 or more shareholders onboard already.

More than likely, when you think of a legal document for shares you'll likely first think of shareholder agreement and probably not a security holder's deed.

So, what exactly is the difference between the two?

First, a shareholder’s deed, deals with exactly that - shares, and shares only.  

On the other hand, a security holder’s deed will cover shares as well as notes and options, so it’s the better choice if you think your company could have other security types other than shares down the track and for cashflow reasons, flexibility is a good thing when it comes to legal drafting.  

Even if your company ONLY has shares now, its good to plan ahead so you don’t need to re-draft your deed if other security types are added later on.