Online Trading - Protection for Customer Accounts

L

LiferT

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Hi

I am considering opening an online trading account to buy some shares.

From the handful of brokers that I have looked at, I can see that there are client compensation arrangements in place to protect the customer if the broker fails for whatever reason. For the brokers that I have been looking at, the compensation schemes seems to be only up to 90% of €20,000 for EU (non UK) customers.

Can anyone please tell me whether this limit applies to the full value of all shares held on the clients behalf by the online broker plus their cash deposits, or whether it just applies to the cash deposits held by the broker on behalf of the client. Are the shares classed as separate entities owned exclusively and in their own right by the clients of the broker?

Many thanks

LT
 
LiferT said:
Are the shares classed as separate entities owned exclusively and in their own right by the clients of the broker?
Click to expand...
If you're asking are the shares going to be in your own name, then for any of the online platforms I looked at the answer is no. The CREST system can be used by brokers to put shares in your name 'digitally' but few if any online brokers do it, I'd guess down to cost/admin-overhead/transaction-speed. Generally the shares are registered to some sort of custodian company, which is sometimes the online broker itself, a subsidiary or possibly a third party.

You might find this thread useful as a bit of this came up - https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/is-degiro-a-clear-best-buy-for-an-online-stockbroker.217889/
 
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