Introduction
A stakeholder beneficiary is the person or entity that economically benefits from shares owned by someone else. This is common when shares are held by a legal entity (such as a holding company, trust, or nominee) on behalf of the actual beneficial owner.
This article explains how to add beneficiaries when creating new transactions and how to add them to existing transactions.
Who can add beneficiaries: You need to be an account admin in Ledgy to add beneficiaries to transactions.
When should you add a beneficiary?
Adding a beneficiary is useful when you want to reflect the true economic owner behind a legal entity on your cap table. Common scenarios include:
Investor with a holding company: An investor invests via their holding company, but you want Ledgy to show that the investor is the person who ultimately benefits from those shares. Adding the investor as the beneficiary surfaces this relationship in your reports.
Nominee arrangements: Shares are held by a nominee on behalf of the actual owner. Adding the beneficial owner ensures accurate economic ownership reporting.
Trusts or SPVs: A trust or special purpose vehicle holds shares for one or more beneficiaries.
Tip: If the investor also needs dashboard access to view the holding company's portfolio (rather than just appearing in reports), consider using the Delegates feature instead of, or in addition to, beneficiaries.
How to add a beneficiary to a new transaction
When creating a new equity transaction, you can add the beneficiary information directly in the transaction modal.
Step 1: Create the transaction
Go to Ownership > Transactions and create your transaction (such as issuing shares, granting options, or recording a share purchase).
Step 2: Access optional fields
In the transaction modal, scroll to the Optional fields section.
Step 3: Select stakeholder beneficiary
Click on Stakeholder beneficiary to expand this field.
Step 4: Choose the beneficiary
Select an existing stakeholder from the dropdown menu who will be the beneficiary of this transaction.
If the beneficiary doesn't exist yet:
Exit the transaction modal
First create the beneficiary as a stakeholder in your account (go to Stakeholders > Add stakeholder)
Return to your transaction and follow these steps again to select the newly created stakeholder as beneficiary
Step 5: Save the transaction
Click Save to create the transaction with the beneficiary information.
Step 6: Publish the transaction
Remember to publish the transaction to finalise it in your cap table. Draft transactions are not reflected in your ownership reports until published.
How to add a beneficiary to an existing transaction
If you need to add beneficiary information to a transaction that already exists, you can edit the transaction.
Step 1: Find the transaction
Go to Ownership > Transactions and locate the transaction you want to update.
Step 2: Edit the transaction
Click the three dots next to the transaction and select Edit from the menu.
Step 3: Access optional fields
In the transaction modal, scroll to the Optional fields section.
Step 4: Select stakeholder beneficiary
Click on Stakeholder beneficiary to expand this field.
Step 5: Choose the beneficiary
Select the appropriate stakeholder from the dropdown menu who is the beneficiary of this transaction.
Step 6: Save the changes
Click Save to update the transaction with the beneficiary information.
The transaction will now include the beneficiary details, allowing you to view economic ownership in your cap table reports
What happens after you add a beneficiary?
Once a beneficiary is added to a transaction:
Cap table reports will show the beneficiary relationship, so you can see both the legal owner (e.g. the holding company) and the economic beneficiary (e.g. the investor) on your ownership reports.
The beneficiary's stakeholder dashboard will reflect the economic interest attributed to them through the beneficiary relationship. This means an investor can log in and see the value of shares held on their behalf by the holding company.
Both the legal owner and the beneficiary remain as separate stakeholders in your account — adding a beneficiary does not transfer ownership.
Note: If you have many transactions to update with beneficiary information, you can use the Bulk Edit function on the Transactions page. Go to Ownership → Transactions → Bulk Edit, download the template, fill in the Beneficiary column, and re-upload.
Related articles
How do I invite delegates to access a stakeholder's dashboard? — An alternative approach: give the investor direct login access to the holding company's dashboard so they can view portfolio information themselves.
How to edit transactions — Learn how to edit one or more transactions if you need to add beneficiaries to existing records.