Before getting to know what a Demat account is, let us first understand why holding documents in digital form is more beneficial than having them in physical form.
Today, we are more into digital wallets like Google Pay, Paytm, and all such. Because they are more secure and easily accessible.
Isn’t it?
In the same way, having a Demat account helps you keep all your financial assets in a single electronic form.
The main purpose of the Demat account is to hold all the shares that you have bought or dematerialized (converted to electronic format physical shares) and to make trading easier for you.
Why is it important to check the Demat Statement regularly?
After depositing a cheque in the bank account, we normally check the account statement to ensure funds have been credited to the account. But how often do we check our Demat account statement, to check whether the purchased shares have been credited to the Demat account?
It is important to regularly monitor your Demat holding statement to ensure that the requisite transfer of shares has been made to your Demat account. While in the majority of cases, the transfer takes place as a matter of course, there could be an element of chance of an error. It could well be possible that the shares are still kept in the broking firm’s common pool account, and utilized to fulfill the margin requirements of other clients. In such a scenario, not only do you face the threat of losses from your investments, but also stand to lose corporate action benefits, like dividends, stock splits, and so on. So please ensure that the purchased shares are promptly transferred by your broker from the common pool account to your Demat account.
How to access Demat account statement
The CDSL website now allows all investors an online medium to check their CAS, the procedure for which is as follows :
1. Log onto the CDSL website at cdslindia.com
2. Under the ‘Quick Links’ tab on the homepage, select ‘Login’ and login to – CAS.
3. Proceed to enter your PAN number
4. Proceed to enter your Demat Account Number
5. Enter other requested data such as date of birth and complete captcha requirements.
6. Submit
7. You will receive an OTP on your registered mobile number which you can use to authenticate the login
If all the details entered are correct, you should now be able to view your CAS and check the Demat account statement.
Things to look for while reading the Demat account statement.
Once an individual has gained access to their CAS and can view their Demat account statement, there are a number of things to look for in order to correctly interpret the statement.
Personal Details: Even before looking into the account statement, one should first verify their details.
Folio Number: This is another piece of information unique to each investor, and functions as an identity stamp for all future investments made by the investor.
Fund options and names: This shows users the title of their funds along with mentions of dividend payments and the growth of the fund.
Dividend payouts: This shows investors a history of the dividend payments they have received from their investments.
The Net Asset Value: Also known as the NAV, this varies daily. Thus, the NAV shown in the statement is from the time of investment.
Transaction Summary: This functions as a giant compilation of all records of any transactions the investor has made in the share market. Along with this, the SIP and SWPs are also mentioned.
Holding statement: This section is a compilation of all the assets held by the investor. For equities, it includes the ISIN, security name, current balance, frozen balance, pledge balance, free balance, market price or face value, and the value of the investments. The statement includes the fund name, folio number, investor details, date, transaction description, amount, NAV, Price, units, stamp duty, opening and closing balance for mutual funds.
Consolidated Account Statement
For investors who have multiple Demat accounts under either NSDL or CDSL, or even mutual funds that are registered under Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs), the provision of a Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) has been made. As per norms, the consolidated statement is issued by the depository under which you opened your first online Demat account, making it your default depository.
The CAS is a statement of investments and transactions made through several brokers and Demat accounts. In case you have been actively transacting with the help of any brokers or using any account, a monthly CAS is sent to you, but if there has not been any activity in any of your accounts for six months, the statement is released half-yearly.
On the CDSL portal, you may check your CAS at https://www.cdslindia.com/cas/logincas.aspx using these steps. For NSDL, visit https://nsdlcas.nsdl.com/ and follow these instructions for registration.
Conclusion
Demat accounts allow investors a place to store their investments and keep track of them. You may choose to register directly with your depository and check your Demat statement on either NSDL or CDSL web portals. Alternatively, if you operate multiple Demat accounts in India, you may sign up for a consolidated statement. The ‘how’ of how to check Demat account balance and statement is rather simple and can be done simply through the CDSL website. In order to correctly interpret the data and stay on top of one’s investments, however, investors need to pay keen attention to aspects of their CASs such as the transaction history and the names of their funds and options and ensure that all is in order.
To learn more about Asset classes enroll to our course NM 103: Basics of Asset Classes
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