What is the difference between Issuer sponsored and Participant sponsored (CHESS)? How do I know what my holding is?
Issuer Sponsored is where shares are held in an uncertificated form, without the requirement for sponsorship by a CHESS participant. Shareholders are not issued share certificates, but instead receive statements detailing their movements and holding balance. Statements are issued when you first become a holder and are also mailed within 5 business days of the end of any month in which transactions occur. The holding statement also shows your personal Securityholder Reference Number (SRN) identifying the issuer sponsored holding. CHESS stands for Clearing House Electronic Subregister System. CHESS participants have direct access to the settlement process and can sponsor other securityholders to use CHESS facilities. All stockbrokers are participants, as are most large institutional investors, custodian nominees and trustee companies. An individual shareholder would generally use a stockbroker as their sponsoring participant. A sponsorship agreement is then signed with the nominated part
