Securities litigation: how can investors optimize recovery?

At a glance

When an issuer becomes involved in securities litigation, eligible investors may be entitled to compensation. However, they must first reconstruct the relevant positions, meet filing deadlines, and submit claims in accordance with specific procedural requirements. To simplify this process, Societe Generale Securities Services (SGSS) offers clients a comprehensive securities class action management solution operated with Broadridge, covering the entire process from case identification through to compensation payment.

What is a securities class action?

A class action enables multiple investors who have suffered a similar loss to assert their rights through a collective legal proceeding. In the securities industry, class actions may arise from misleading financial disclosures, fraud, or other corporate misconduct that has affected the value of a security.
Why is recovery an important issue for investors?

Compensation amounts can be substantial. In the United States, securities class action settlements totaled approximately USD 3 billion in 2025. Beyond the amounts involved, these proceedings create significant operational challenges. They are numerous, international in scope, often lengthy, and subject to complex documentation requirements that vary across jurisdictions.

Settlement amounts paid (inflation-adjusted USD billions)
N = number of cases
Source : Cornerstone Research, Securities Class Action Settlements – 2025 Review & Analysis

Traditionally concentrated in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia, securities class action proceedings are now expanding across Asia and Europe. Litigation cases increasingly cover a broad range of sectors, including financial services, technology, healthcare, environmental matters, digital assets and artificial intelligence.

What are the main recovery challenges?

For institutional investors and asset managers, the challenge goes beyond monitoring legal developments. Each proceeding must be linked to the relevant portfolios, and sufficient evidence must be collected to demonstrate eligibility.

Key challenges include:

• Rapidly identifying relevant proceedings worldwide 
• Determining potentially eligible accounts and positions 
• Estimating recoverable losses 
• Meeting the deadlines and procedural requirements specific to each case 
• Tracking claims through to final settlement

Without a dedicated solution, recovery opportunities may be overlooked or require extensive manual processing. An industrialized approach helps reduce this operational burden and integrates class action monitoring into standard asset servicing processes.

An integrated class action management solution

SGSS offers a class action management service operated with Broadridge, a leading provider of technology solutions and data processing services for financial markets. The solution covers the key stages of the process:

• Global Monitoring: Identification of proceedings that may affect client portfolios
• Eligibility Assessment: Reconciliation with available positions and transaction data, and estimation of potential losses
• Claims Administration: Preparation and submission of participation claims
• End-to-End Tracking: Dedicated portal providing visibility on each case through to compensation payment

What are the benefits for SGSS clients?

• Provides access recovery opportunities across multiple markets 
• Reduces operational workload through an automated and integrated process 
• Minimizes specific developments by leveraging existing data and operational flows 
• Receiving long-term support, from case identification to payment

Frequently Asked Questions about securities services class actions

Who may be eligible for a securities class action?

Any investor who held the affected security during the period specified in the litigation may potentially be eligible, subject to applicable rules and supporting documentation requirements.

Why automate class action monitoring?

Automation facilitates the monitoring of large numbers of proceedings, portfolio eligibility analysis and deadline management, while significantly reducing manual processing.

What is SGSS’s role?

SGSS integrates this service into its asset servicing offering to simplify the process for clients and provides consolidated visibility, while leveraging Broadridge's technology capabilities.