As a private investor, you can open your own direct account in the following Euroclear Central Securities Depositaries (CSD):
- Euroclear Sweden
- Euroclear UK & International
Generally, a key benefit of opening an account in your name directly with a CSD to hold and transfer securities, is that you hold your securities in the most secure environment and form – book-entry, electronic form. You and your stockbroker or bank avoid the burden, cost and risk associated with, for example, paper certificate handling while you also avoid the risk of intermediary default.
Excluding paper handling, where applicable, via direct membership with a CSD will typically also allow for benefits such as shorter settlement periods.
Options and benefits driven by market practice
The service our CSDs provide is based on market practice and evolution as well as legislation. That also explains why:
- in certain countries, a private individual cannot open an account directly with the CSD.
- the advantage you gain by opening a direct member account with a Euroclear CSD vary from one CSD to another.
- If you as a private individual trade for example a share in Sweden on for example a regulated market, you normally act via your bank or broker. After the trade in the market is finalised your bank/broker will register your newly acquired shares in a securities account. In Sweden there are two types of securities accounts available where one type, the VPC account, is kept via us and the other type, the custody account, is only kept with your bank/broker.
- Even if you as a private individual do hold a VPC account in your name it’s still only your bank/broker (in the role as a so called account operator) that are eligible to administer that account with us. You as a private individual do not have access to open a VPC account directly via us nor log on to access your existing account. That’s only possible to do via your bank.
