We all know about savings accounts with banks. It allows easy access to our funds while offering security from theft and mishandling. A Demat account does the same for investors. Nowadays, the Demat account is a prerequisite for stock investment.

Demat Account is an account that is used to hold shares and securities in electronic format. The full form of Demat account is a dematerialised account. The purpose of opening a Demat account is to hold shares that have been bought or dematerialised (converted from physical to electronic shares), thus making share trading easy for the users during online trading.

In India, depositories such as NSDL and CDSL provide Free Demat account services. Intermediaries, depository participants or stockbrokers - like Angel One - facilitate these services. Each intermediary may have Demat account charges that vary as per volume held in the account, type of subscription, and terms and conditions between a depository and a stockbroker.

What is Demat account?

A Demat Account or Dematerialised Account provides the facility of holding shares and securities in an electronic format. During online trading, shares are bought and held in a Demat Account, thus, facilitating easy trade for the users. A Demat Account holds all the investments an individual makes in shares, government securities, exchange-traded funds, bonds and mutual funds in one place.

Demat enabled the digitisation process of the Indian stock trading market and enforced better governance by SEBI. In addition, the Demat account reduced the risks of storing, theft, damage, and malpractices by storing securities in electronic format. It was first introduced in 1996 by NSE. Initially, the account opening process was manual, and it took investors several days to get it activated. Today, one can open a Demat account online in 5 mins. The end-to-end digital process has contributed to popularising Demat, which skyrocketed in the pandemic.

What is dematerialisation?

Dematerialisation is the process of converting the physical share certificates into electronic form, which is a lot easier to maintain and is accessible from anywhere throughout the world. An investor who wants to trade online needs to open a Demat with a Depository Participant (DP). The purpose of is to eliminate the need for the investor to hold physical share certificates and facilitating a seamless tracking and monitoring of holdings.

Earlier, the share certificate issuance process was time-consuming and cumbersome, which Demat has helped transform by speeding the entire process and storing security certificates in digital format. Once your Demat account is active, you can convert paper certificates into digital format by submitting all your physical securities along with a Dematerialisation Request Form (DRF). Also, remember to deface each physical certificate by mentioning ‘ Surrendered for Dematerialisation’ on it. You will receive an acknowledgement slip when you surrender your share certificates.

Advantages unique to ARQ - by Angel One

Index beating returns

Index beating returns

ARQ gives you a shot at earning the best possible returns. It takes emotional bias completely out of the equation and helps you make the right investments that have the potential to offer great returns.

Personalised investment recommendations

Personalised recommendations

ARQ uses Nobel prize-winning Modern Portfolio Theory to give you personalised recommendations. Thus, you get the best asset allocation advice across major asset classes like equity, gold & debt mutual funds, which is unique to your risk preferences and helps you achieve your financial goals faster.

Recommendations based on future potential

Recommendations based on future potential

Powered by advanced technology, ARQ processes billions of data points and sorts through billions of combinations to create models that have superior predictive power. Hence, the stocks & mutual funds recommendations have the highest future performance potential.

Start investing with any amount

Start investing with any amount

There is no fixed investment amount to start investing with ARQ. You can experience the power of ARQ by opening a Demat account with Angel One and start investing with any amount of money.

Portfolio notifications

Portfolio notifications

Once you start investing with ARQ, you will receive periodic auto notifications to rebalance your portfolio. Thus, ARQ always keeps you invested in the most profitable stocks and mutual funds.

ARQ qutperforms benchmarks consistently

ARQ outperforms benchmarks consistently

Extensive back-testing and comprehensive track records have proven time and again that ARQ outperforms the benchmarks by a handsome margin. So, if you invest in recommendations given by ARQ you stand a better chance to earn higher returns.

Demat account FAQs

FAQs

What are the charges of Demat account?

The charges of Demat account vary as per the volume held in the account, type of account subscribed, and the terms and conditions laid by the depository and the stockbroker. While there are no Demat account opening charges, every stockbroker charges transaction/operation fees including the Annual Maintenance Charge (AMC). Failure to pay these fees may result in the freezing of the account.

How to open a Demat account?

In India, Demat account service is provided by depositories such as NSDL and CDSL through intermediaries / Depository Participant (DP) / stockbrokers such as Angel One. To open a Demat account, you need to contact the DP and fill out the account opening form. Once completed, you need to submit the form along with Proof of Identity and Proof of Address documents. The documents required to open a Demat account are identity proof like PAN card, copy of valid residence proof, existing financial balance sheets and recent photographs. Once the applicant’s details are verified, the application is processed. The broker then dispatches a welcome kit with details of the applicant’s User ID and password. One can access their Demat account using these details and begin trading in the stock market. It is essential that you open a Demat account with a reputed stock broking company like Angel One.

How long does it take to open a Demat account?

Usually, it takes about 48 to 72 hours to open a Demat account. However, with Angel One, you can get your Demat Account activated in one hour.

I have submitted my application. what happens next?

After submitting your application, the DP carries out a verification of the details provided on the Account Opening form. On completion of the verification, your application is processed and a welcome kit is dispatched. The welcome kit contains your user ID and password. You can then log into your account using these details and begin trading online. Your user ID and password are completely safe. Angel One does not dispatch the welcome kit containing the user ID and password to anyone except the client, as it contains confidential information. Once you receive your account details, it is advisable to login and change your password for security reasons

Whats is joint Demat account?

A Demat account can be held by a single as well as in a joint ownership. A joint Demat account can have a maximum of three account holders, which includes the main holder plus two joint holders. In effect, the joint holders acquire rights to the shares held in the joint Demat account.

Can I link Demat & trading account?

A trading account is different from a Demat account. While the latter only retains shares and securities, the former facilitates their sale and purchase. Shares purchased through a trading account may be deposited into the Demat account. Existing shares may also be withdrawn from a Demat account and sold through a trading account. The purpose of linking your trading account to your Demat account is to avoid the process of verification each time. This may also simplify trading. After the order has been sanctioned, shares are either removed from or deposited to your Demat account. When linking the Demat and trading accounts, it is also understand the difference between 2-in-1 accounts and 3-in-1 trading accounts. The 2-in-1 trading account basically integrates the trading account and the Demat account. The 3-in-1 account is offered by brokers that have banking operations within the group. Thus, ICICI Securities, HDFC Securities, Axis Securities and Kotak Securities are all able to offer 3-in-1 accounts due to their banking interface. While 2-in-1 accounts are a must to ensure seamless relationship between trading and Demat, the 3-in-1 is not a major advantage as most broking platforms will allow you to transfer funds almost seamlessly into your trading account.

Can I have two Demat accounts?

A trader may open multiple Demat accounts, however they can open only one trading account with a broker. Investors would want to have more than one Demat account if they are active traders and use each Demat account for a different trading strategy. However, they should also keep in mind the transaction and operation (AMC) fees associated with each account.

What is Demat account and its benefits?

A Demat account is a type of account that holds securities in electronic form. It is short for Dematerialized Account. There are several benefits to using a Demat account. First, it is more convenient than holding physical securities. Demat accounts make it easier to trade securities, you can buy and sell securities online.