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Just as an investor can choose to hold their money either in notes and coins or as an electronic record in a bank account, as a CREST Personal Member, the investor can hold his/her securities in an electronic account in the CREST settlement system rather than in physical form with certificates.

Share trades in the UK and Ireland are currently settled three business days after trade (T+3), ultimately this will decline to T+1. The successful processing of physical paper in such a short cycle is difficult, and most stockbrokers encourage their certificated clients to trade for T+10 settlement. Personal Membership gives the broker and the client a realistic alternative to share certificates. Clients and brokers will have less paper to worry about and will never have the inconvenience and expense of replacing lost transfer forms or share certificates.

The investor's rights to shares held in electronic form are identical to the rights of a paper-based investor and their name will still appear in the company register of shareholders as proof of their ownership. The investor will still have a direct relationship with the company whose shares they hold and they will continue to receive dividend payments, company annual reports and any shareholder perks directly from the company. The investor does not have to hold all of their shares in CREST and can keep some holdings in certificated form if they would like to and can convert shares back into certificated form readily if they wish.

The benefits of Personal Membership to Private Clients are:

To learn more click for a brochure:

Overview of CREST Personal Member Accounts

CREST Personal Member Guide (General)
- General service description and CREST Personal Member Terms & Conditions (General - Part 2)

CREST Personal Member Guide (International)
- Guide to The International Links Service (the "Links Service") including the CREST Personal Member Terms and Conditions (International Links)

If you would like to proceed with opening a CREST Personal Member Account please click below to download a copy of the admissions agreement. Before submitting any completed CREST documentation to us ensure you are fully aware of the Terms and Conditions of opening and maintaining a CREST PMA account. Once you have read these terms please complete, sign and return the admissions agreement to our offices:

CREST Personal Member Admission Document
- Including the CREST Admission Agreement and the CREST Personal Member Terms & Conditions

If you have any further queries on CREST Personal Account Membership please feel free to e-mail our C.P.A. Question Line:
E-Mail: CPA@camocon.ie