Understanding Guilder Shares: A Historical Look at Dutch Stock Trading in the US

What Were Guilder Shares?

A Guilder share was an ownership stake in a Dutch company that could be traded in the United States because it represented shares that had been canceled in Dutch stock markets.

Guilder Shares, also called New York Shares, represented a special international trading arrangement for shares of companies based in the Netherlands only, since the stocks of Dutch companies could not be traded through American depository receipts (ADRs) at the time. Today, ADRs can, in fact, be listed on Dutch companies, and so Guilder Shares are no longer used.

Key Takeaways

• Guilder Shares were a way for Dutch companies to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
• Holland previously prevented shares listed on its national exchanges from being traded outside of the country.
• Also known as New York Shares, the Guild Share allowed for a Dutch company to cancel its shares on Netherlands exchanges and list them instead on the NYSE.

Understanding Guilder Shares (New York Shares)

When buying shares of a company located in a foreign country, U.S. citizens will generally buy an ADR, a certificate that represents those foreign shares.

Since the Netherlands did not allow Dutch company stock to be traded in other countries, a certain number of shares must be canceled in the Netherlands then grouped and sold as Guilder Shares that can then be issued in the U.S.

The guilder was also once the name of the Dutch national currency before it joined the euro.

Dutch ADRs Today

An American depositary receipt (ADR) is a negotiable certificate issued by a U.S. depositary bank representing a specified number of shares—often one share—of a foreign company's stock. The ADR trades on U.S. stock markets as any domestic shares would.

ADRs offer U.S. investors a way to purchase stock in overseas companies that would not be available otherwise. Foreign firms also benefit, as ADRs enable them to attract American investors and capital without the hassle and expense of listing on U.S. stock exchanges.

Today several Dutch ADRs are tradeable on U.S. exchanges. Several more trade in the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC). The ones listed on major exchanges in the U.S> include:

Dutch ADRs Listed on Major Exchanges as of June 23, 2021. Name Ticker Listing Exchange Industry Aegon AEG NYSE Life Insurance argenx ARGX NASDAQ Pharma. & Biotech. ASML ASML NASDAQ Tech.Hardware&Equip. ING Groep ING NYSE Life Insurance LAVA Therapeutics N V LVTX NASDAQ Biotech Philips Electronics PHG NYSE Leisure Goods RELX NV RENX NYSE Media Trivago TRVG NASDAQ Travel & Leisure Trivago TRVGRE NASDAQ Travel & Leisure Unilever N.V. UN NYSE Food Producers VEON Com VEON NASDAQ Mobile Telecom.