How the SGX investor portal can be a 1-stop destination to support your investment journey

Since the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis, investors have not seen stock markets that have crashed so quickly as what had happened in February and March 2020, when the Covid-19 outbreak became a full-blown global pandemic.

During this period, major indexes around the world have fallen significantly. Many counters, including blue-chip companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have also seen their prices dropped in tandem with the market.

One silver lining of this decline is that stock prices of many high-quality companies are now cheaper than they were at the start of the year. While the short-term outlook for the economy isn't exactly rosy due to Covid-19, it's an excellent opportunity for long-term investors to purchase quality stocks at lower prices, and to wait for the markets to recover.

While there are many companies around the world that you can invest in, investing locally is also an option especially if you are looking to invest in companies that you see around you.

To help investors in Singapore, the SGX has developed an extensive range of tools. Many of these are easily accessible via the newly launched SGX Investor Portal.

In this article, we will explore some of these tools that you can use to support you to become a better investor.

Open your CDP account online

For those who are new to investing in the SGX, you will need a Central Depository (CDP) Account and a trading account.

Operated by the SGX, the CDP provides integrated clearing, settlement and depository facilities for people in the Singapore securities market, for both equities (e.g. stocks) and fixed income instruments (e.g. bonds).

Stocks and bonds that you buy on SGX are automatically deposited and stored in your personal CDP account, rather than with the broker you used to complete the transaction.

While investors can have several brokerage accounts linked to their CDP account, each person is only allowed to hold one individual CDP account.

If you do not have a CDP account, the good news is that you can apply for one online. Singpass users can sign up using Myinfo (Singaporeans & PRs only) in just 3-5 minutes or by filling in an online form that would take about 6-8 minutes.

To open a CDP account, you have to meet the following criteria.

You must be 18 years old and above;

You must not be an undischarged bankrupt; and

You must have a bank account with one of the following banks in Singapore - DBS/POSB, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, HSBC, Maybank and Standard Chartered Bank.

Manage your CDP account online

One common problem for investors is forgetting what and how many stocks they own. It's normal for investors to accumulate stocks via different brokerage accounts, all of which are deposited into their CDP account.

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With the SGX Investor Portal, you no longer have to worry about this problem. You can login to your CDP account to keep track of your current holdings. This prevents a situation where you may end up overselling stocks that you do not own, which may lead to a fine.

CDP is able to provide transaction confirmations (via CDP notifications) and e-statements through CDP Internet. CDP internet will also store up to 24 months of e-statements and 60 days of CDP notifications.

All these information can be accessed via the SGX Investor Portal and the service is free. Do note that past account statements and CDP notifications are only available from the date of your enrolment with CDP Internet account - so you may want to sign up as soon as possible to get access to these information.

Check stock prices & get free resources

Besides viewing your investment holdings in your CDP account, the SGX Investor Portal also offers a stock screener that allows you to view real-time prices of all SGX-listed counters.

When you include stocks, bonds, REITs, ETFs, DLCs and others, there are more than 1,000 counters that you can view immediately through this portal.

You can also screen the companies based on your investment requirements, before adding them to your favourites to monitor them more closely.

For those who wish to learn more about the stock market, the SGX Investor Portal also provides a wealth of investor education resources, offered via the SGX Academy.

Experienced investors can also stay up to date with the latest stock market news via Market Updates, which is conveniently located as a tab in the SGX Investor Portal.

As the SGX Investor Portal is still new, investors can look forward to more features in the future. This includes features such as Currency Conversion (CCY) service, Securities Borrowing and Lending Application and Corporate Actions.

Watch the following video to find out more about the SGX Investor Portal.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCt9kCzL9Fg&feature=emb_logo[/embed]

At the end of the day, whether you are a new investor looking to get started on your investment journey and opening a CDP account, or an experienced investor who needs to stay up-to-date with the latest news, analysis and stock prices, the SGX Investor Portal is going to be a valuable one-stop destination for you.

For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

This article was first published in Dollars and Sense.