Paper

diddymonster

So, call me old fashioned or just want to be super safe, who on here tries to buy shares with a paper certificate.. maybe to make sure digital records aren’t hacked or maybe some other reason...

masonic

To be super safe, I opt for electronic in case of fire, flood or theft.

grumiofoundation

diddymonster said:

So, call me old fashioned or just want to be super safe, who on here tries to buy shares with a paper certificate.. maybe to make sure digital records aren’t hacked or maybe some other reason...

Following the same logic do you only have physical cash?

wmb194

diddymonster said:

So, call me old fashioned or just want to be super safe, who on here tries to buy shares with a paper certificate.. maybe to make sure digital records aren’t hacked or maybe some other reason...

The same as a building society passbook, a share certificate isn't a bearer instrument. It represents an entry in a register, which will be digital, so they can be reported lost and replaced. I guess it's where you're worried about a mistake or problem occurring. If it's with a particular stockbroker then perhaps just stick with one of the big, established brands.

Daliah

An opportunity to remind ourselves that a picture says more than a thousand words

Linton

You soon wont be able to buy share ceretificates.  They are being phased out at least for publicly traded companies.

https://www.sharesoc.org/sharesoc-news/dematerialisation-of-shares-certificates-to-be-abolished/

lozzy1965

Deleted_User said:

grumiofoundation said:

diddymonster said:

So, call me old fashioned or just want to be super safe, who on here tries to buy shares with a paper certificate.. maybe to make sure digital records aren’t hacked or maybe some other reason...

Following the same logic do you only have physical cash?

Personally, I'm trying to move that way as much as possible. And I'm a software engineer. 

Got good home security?  Sprinklers everywhere?  Fire blankets and extinguishers.  A huge safe?

Do you not think that the £85K security is good enough for digital money?

Planning on working until you drop to avoid the ravages of inflation?

pafpcg

diddymonster said:

So, call me old fashioned or just want to be super safe, who on here tries to buy shares with a paper certificate.. maybe to make sure digital records aren’t hacked or maybe some other reason...

After experiencing the debacle of the SVS broker's administration, I'll be continuing my policy of holding my "long-term" shares as paper share certificates.  The £25-£30 cost of certification is, in my opinion, a price worth paying for the advantages of being the registered owner of the shares.  Of course, if you're a "trader" rather than a "buy-and-hold" investor, then hold the shares in a broker's nominee account and, of course, there's no option with ISA accounts.

To guard against the known problems, I have a smallish lockable fire safe* which I keep in a corner of the house (with other similar-looking plastic crates) which is least likely to be crushed or incinerated. I keep a photocopy of the certificates in my filing cabinet in case I ever need to refer to one.

* If you don't want the expense of a fire-safe, one suggestion would be a A4-sized "tupperware" waterproof box with the papers wrapped in aluminium foil and store the box inside a washing machine or dish-washer (relatively incombustible and robust enough not to be crushed by falling masonry).  But somewhere safe to keep irreplaceable documents, computer backup media, etc, is always a good idea.

pafpcg

Linton said:

You soon wont be able to buy share ceretificates.  They are being phased out at least for publicly traded companies.

https://www.sharesoc.org/sharesoc-news/dematerialisation-of-shares-certificates-to-be-abolished/

I wonder, though, whether the issues about benefits of true "ownership" of the shares, which were raised in the comments below the article, will be addressed.  Frankly, I don't trust a politician such as Lord Frost, to have the stamina to deal with details...

pafpcg

Deleted_User said:

pafpcg said:

After experiencing the debacle of the SVS broker's administration, I'll be continuing my policy of holding my "long-term" shares as paper share certificates.

.....

All these elaborate precautions you suggest to keep certificates safe just suggest that you are trying to make physical objects theft-proof and indestructible, when they're not. (The important difference with computer backups is that you only need one copy to survive.)

.....

I suggested keeping certificates in a fire-proof safe to cover 90% of the risks;  I wouldn't call the purchase of a £70 chest fire-safe "elaborate precautions" when we also need to protect other documents such as birth and marriage certificates, passports, wills & assets lists, etc, together with irreplaceable memorabilia such as courtship letters exchanged with a soon-to-be life partner, the last birthday card from a long-departed parent, a child's first drawing of "Mummy and Daddy"...