I presume paper form no longer possible for new purchases...?
Buying shares in paper form (certificated shares) is still possible for Irish and UK shares. However, none of the online brokers or banks (I think) will provide these for you. You will need to go to a traditional brokerage so fees will be a good bit higher.
The advantages are that your name will be on the stock register so your ownership is secure, you will receive company documentation, annual reports, notices for AGMs etc , you won't have to pay a broker a holding fee . You can also deal yourself with the company regarding how you would like the dividends paid etc
Disadvantages are that it is more expensive and you will have to buy the shares rather than the ADRs (if they exist), incurring more stamp duty. It may take longer to sell the shares and if you lose the certificate it will take some time to have it replaced.
I think this is a good way to hold shares that you don't intend to sell and wish to hold for the long term eg dividend paying shares that are part of your retirement arrangements.
2 Nominee account compushare vodafone - Eircom privatisation days - As I understand that there must be separation of client's funds
3 on line account- none
is there any differences in terms of safety between 2 and 3 ?
In 2, you merge two options. Nominee accounts and computershare are different animals.
Computershare is the closest thing to 1 above, done electronically. Companies who use Computershare have outsourced the task of keeping their share register updated etc
I would consider this very safe as Computershare don't handle your actual shares or money, they just keep the records. Your name will still be on the company register.
I suppose there is a risk that they might be seriously hacked and their systems destroyed but I'm sure they have adequate back-ups etc.
Nominee accounts are run by brokers and other intermediaries. These would be an account that would hold lots of shares, including yours, from the brokerage. Your shares would be mixed in with all other shares held by other clients of the brokerage. There are strict rules about such accounts and client shares and funds should never be mixed with shares or funds owned by the brokerage itself, for example.
However your name will not be on the company register and if there is fraud at the brokerage (not unknown), getting your hands on your shares will depend on the quality of the records remaining, if any, after the fraud is discovered.
3 is similar to nominee accounts except that the businesses are generally much bigger, so potentially less suseptible to fraud, though perhaps a greater hacking target. You should also consider the jurisdiction where the company is based as you will be depending on them to regulate and supervise the business. Also worth considering the parent company, which could be a large bank etc. The online companies generally outsource the holding of shares themselves to other institutions.
In terms of safety, I would rank as follows; certificated shares, computershare, online brokerage, nominee accounts.
