stock certificates

[AgInvestor]

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to get a sense, do you guys have physical possession of the stock certificates for the shares you own?

Do you think its worth paying the fees etc. to get them in these times (ie. if there are large swings/collapses in the market)

Thanks

[ricm123]

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to get a sense, do you guys have physical possession of the stock certificates for the shares you own?

Do you think its worth paying the fees etc. to get them in these times (ie. if there are large swings/collapses in the market)

Thanks

Honestly, I don't know if physical certificates would have any advantages. (Other than maybe a gift to a child / grandchild.)

Placing a limit order to sell a position that you only have a paper cert. for is probably impossible? (As may be a quick sale.)

My take is that if you are that worried, you shouldn't even be in the market at all.

[AgInvestor]

Honestly, I don't know if physical certificates would have any advantages. (Other than maybe a gift to a child / grandchild.)

Placing a limit order to sell a position that you only have a paper cert. for is probably impossible? (As may be a quick sale.)

My take is that if you are that worried, you shouldn't even be in the market at all.

Well what about the case of PM mining companies....these would hypothetically thrive in a times of large banking collapses?

So the point I am getting at is that a physical certificate would be something that you own that is proof you have a part of the company. Sort of like the idea of holding physical PM's, rather than through ETF's etc.

I wanted to know if the people who are somewhat inclined to think that there will be large economic turmoils, or at the very worst complete collapses of social/banking/economic systems, are going the extra step of getting certificates for their stocks too?

[Renegade]

I have a stock certificate for 2666 shares of a penny stock called Creative Medical Systems I bought back around 1985, it looks really nice, and aint work diddly chit. Can't even find any history on what happened to that company. On the other hand, I have several other stocks, in varying quantities that I have bought fairly recently and do not hold the actual certificates. I can get them, for a fee, which I'm not willing to pay. It is much faster and easier to do online trades, which I do, if your online broker has the stock in their possession. If my goal was to just buy some growth stock and hold it forever, say to pass down to kids or grandkids I would take possession, for trading purposes, I would not.

[AgInvestor]

Thanks for the reply....

What would happen if a discount brokerage went under, what happens to all of the stock certificates? from the client's perspective, are the shares you own safe?

[ricm123]

Thanks for the reply....

What would happen if a discount brokerage went under, what happens to all of the stock certificates? from the client's perspective, are the shares you own safe?

All stock holdings are registered. There's really no printed certificates unless you request one (and pay for it).

When a brokerage goes out of business all your holdings are generally transferred to another brokerage.
Most likely, you would have a time frame in which you could select another brokerage and have the holdings transferred or request certificates.
There may be fees for transfers and certificates and they may vary, depending on the firms.

To transfer, you contact the 'new' brokerage and sign some forms. They expedite the actual transfer. (Often for free to get your business.)

Your holdings should be insured by something similar to FDIC.
Check to see if your brokerage is a member of FINRA and/or SIPC.
If so (and I Hope they are!) go to FINRA and SIPC web sites and read.

Your broker, CPA, or investment adviser should be able to explain the details. You might also check the fine print on a statement or your online web site.

The mining (or whatever) company should have an Investor Relations contact (listed on their web page) that might be able to answer some of your questions.

I don't know how or where you would ever redeem a certificate without going through a brokerage or investment bank? (I've never tried.)

I also don't know how dividends and splits are handled? They can mail you dividend checks, and may simply mail out more certificates when a split takes place. As far as D.R.I.P.'s, I've no idea... Same goes for Reverse Splits; beats me how that's handled, but I'm certain it has to be. (I guess they use the date of issue and work from there?)

If the stocks are in an IRA, I don't think you can even get certificates without it being considered a withdrawal and taxed accordingly.

[AgInvestor]

Thanks a lot for the info...

I am with the canadian brokerage Questrade, and I just checked, they are insured with the CIPF which "protects you if your investment dealer becomes insolvent".

I dont have much interms of stocks but still...its a little load off my mind.

Thanks again man

[chux03]

I'd just print out your monthly statements and keep them in a safe place. Maybe contact the company and see if they know you're a shareholder also??