With the surge of interest in stock market investments, the popularity of demat accounts has soared.
Amidst the 2020 market downturn due to the pandemic, a growing number of individuals seized the opportunity to explore the stock market, subsequently leading to an increase in demat account holdings.
A Multitude of Demat Accounts: As of January this year, the tally of demat accounts had surpassed a staggering 11 crores.
It’s common to find individuals who maintain multiple demat accounts, often purchasing shares through different platforms.
This phenomenon may be attributed to varied factors, including a lack of information or concerns about brokerage fees.
If you’re among those wishing to unify shares scattered across different demat accounts, read on.
Seamless Share Transfers: Merging shares from distinct demat accounts into a single repository is a straightforward process.
The task of transferring shares between demat accounts can be accomplished both online and offline.
Online Transfer Process:
- Acquire a Delivery Instruction Slip (DIS) from your current broker.
- Fill out the DIS form and submit it to your existing broker.
- The broker will forward the completed form to the depository.
- The depository will initiate the share transfer to your new account.
- Transferred shares will promptly reflect in your new demat account.
Optimizing Your Portfolio: Closing Unneeded Demat Accounts: When transferring shares from an old demat account to a new one, consider closing the redundant account.
Failing to close the outdated account may result in unnecessary maintenance charges. Closing a demat account, however, cannot be done online.
Physical presence at a branch is required to initiate the account closure process.
