# Trading & Settlement Paperwork!



## Santob (26 August 2010)

How do you all handle the mountains of mail that get sent when you purchase shares? especially if you frequently buy/sell them?

Typically every buy i make involves 
1) a Letter on how to update details online
2) letter asking for bank account/notification options etc
3) ASX Chess trnasaction summaries.

I can understand that some of these may be required legally, but how do you cope with them all?


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## awg (26 August 2010)

Santob said:


> How do you all handle the mountains of mail that get sent when you purchase shares? especially if you frequently buy/sell them?
> 
> Typically every buy i make involves
> 1) a Letter on how to update details online
> ...




1&2)   Do them online straight away..to avoid dividend and witholding tax muckups 

3)    Just keep them in a date order folder, I date the envelopes of the buy/sell notes

It is a pita to develop systematic record keeping, but not as bad as trying to sort it out when your tax return is already 12 months late


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## So_Cynical (26 August 2010)

Santob said:


> How do you all handle the mountains of mail that get sent when you purchase shares? especially if you frequently buy/sell them?
> 
> Typically every buy i make involves
> 1) a Letter on how to update details online
> ...




Shred all the letters from Computershare and go online to do everything, fill out and mail straight back the letters from Link etc (what a hopeless mob they are) 

Chess transaction summary's i staple together by company, in date order and keep them in a shares only folder.

Dividend and distribution statements all go together in a folder, in the relevant tax year.

Trade confirmation emails all go in a special folder and get forwarded to another account as a back up....as do all electronic communications.

Edit my 'holdings' watchlists and online portfolio....with info as it comes thru.


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## Santob (27 August 2010)

Great replies, thanks 

I keep all my trading records on spreadsheets for taxation purposes, and don't keep physical contract notes, but have them all saved as PDF's.

So it seems i should keep the others in some manner. Time to buy some folders, and some shelf space.

SantoB


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## pixel (27 August 2010)

Santob said:


> Great replies, thanks
> 
> I keep all my trading records on spreadsheets for taxation purposes, and don't keep physical contract notes, but have them all saved as PDF's.
> 
> ...




If you have electronic copies (don't forget to backup!  ) you only need to keep the holding notices in case there's an audit coming your way. (My SMSF Auditor is happy to handle everything electronically; no need for paper there.)
Most Brokers will be only too happy to deal with you by PDF only, eliminating the contract notes from the equation.
No need to buy folders and shelf space for the rest; a shoe carton will do.

As to those Computershare and other Registry forms, it's up to you whether you use them to reply or to insulate your roof space. I shred them and bring the shreds to our local pet store: they're happy to turn them into kitten beds.

I only update my details (TFN, email, accounts etc) for shares I want to hold or expect dividends; where possible, I do it electronically. Computershare's website isn't too bad, although logging in is painfully slow. The others are a mixed bunch, but routine updates work well enough.


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## joea (20 September 2010)

Hi.
In your money management, monthly checking is a good idea.
If you have it set up with folders for paper work that come by mail or electronic. Then portfolio can be checked each month to show which way you are trending.
For new trader this  is where the sin bin comes it. This then conrtols the losses in relation to your trading plan.
Some traders do their paper work on a daily basis in the first hour until the crowd trading is exhausted,


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## Julia (20 September 2010)

joea said:


> Hi.
> In your money management, monthly checking is a good idea.
> If you have it set up with folders for paper work that come by mail or electronic. Then portfolio can be checked each month to show which way you are trending.



Why do you need to do this?  On Etrade (and I'd imagine on the others broker sites also) you can simply set up your p/f page with what you want it to show.  Daily % and $ gains and losses are updated all the time, as is your increase or decrease from date of purchase, for individual shares and for the p/f as a whole.


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