Online Share Trading FAQ's

CDSC stands for Central Depository and Settlement Corporation. Investors’ securities are stored electronically at CDSC. This eliminated the use of certificates in trading at the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

Certificates need to be immobilized into a CDS account in order to be able to trade the shares. This involves filling a CDS 2 form and submitting it together with the certificate to CfC Stanbic Financial Services for forwarding to the registrar and CDSC for crediting to your CDS account.

By completing and signing the account opening form, and terms and conditions. The following are also required; For individual or joint account;

• ID / Passport copy
• 2 color passport size photos
• Evidence of physical address (utility bill, lease or tenancy agreement)
• Evidence of income (bank statement or pay slip)

For a corporation;

• Signed and sealed CDS 1
• 2 colour passport sized photos, ID copies, and utility bills of each director and signatory if any
• Board resolution on approval of account opening including account signatories
• Memorandum and articles of association
• Certificate of incorporation
• Company PIN certificate
• Evidence of physical residence (utility bill, lease or tenancy agreement)
• Evidence of income of the business (bank statement)

The originals of the above documents need to be sighted by CSFS staff for certification, or
certified by a notary public.

This is as a result of a new regulation from the Capital Markets Authority that requires stock brokers to carry out a due diligence on their clients. The process enables us to identify and ascertain relevant information pertinent to doing business with you. A key benefit of this process is that it will enable us to prevent identity theft, fraud and thereby protect your investment with us.

If you are confirmed to be KYC compliant at the bank, we will only require you to fill a CDSC account opening form, and provide us with 2 passport size photos and a copy of your ID or passport.

CDSC account opening process should be done ideally, within the hour if the account opening form is in order and all the KYC requirements are in place, and are all available at the KYC centre at CfC Stanbic Building Kenyatta avenue. However, this may not always be the case.
a) Where extra due diligence is done on a client in line with the KYC /AML policies, the account opening process may extend beyond the hour to within the day.
b) If the KYC documents and account opening forms are received at a CfC Stanbic Bank branch out side Nairobi, the CDSC accounts should be opened within 48 hours.
c) For CfC Stanbic Bank branches within Nairobi, the CDSC account opening process should be done within 36 hours of delivery to the branches. In all cases, clients are alerted by the KYC team immediately their CDSC accounts are opened, to allow them to fund their accounts in readiness for a trade.

There is no minimum investment requirement. However, the minimum number of shares that can be sold or purchased is 100.

The Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) is where shares (Equities) and bonds (Fixed Income Securities) are traded. The NSE is open Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm. Trading sessions are from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The NSE is closed on public holidays.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is a government organization that regulates the Capital Markets of Kenya. Its role includes overseeing the operations of the Nairobi Stock Exchange, the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation, and licensing of stockbrokers.

This a market professional, licensed by the Capital Markets Authority who buys and sells securities on behalf of their clients at the Nairobi Stock Exchange in return for a brokerage commission.

A bond is a loan between a borrower and a lender. It is a debt investment in which an investor lends the government or a corporation funds for which he receives periodic interest payments known at coupons.

One is required to open a CDS account at the Central Bank of Kenya.

Collect a CDS opening card from Central Bank of Kenya with an original copy of your identification. The card has three sections:

• Client details
• Bank details
• CBK verification.

The investor takes the card to his/her bank for the bank signatories to sign and have the banking details filled. Together with this, the investor should present a copy of the ID/ Passport and a passport sized photo for certification by the bank. Once the card has been filled, the client personally takes the card back to CBK together with the following;

• Certified copy of the ID/passport.
• Certified copy of the passport sized photo.

Bonds are traded at the Nairobi Stock Exchange by placing an order through your broker, CSFS.

At this time, bond transactions cannot be done online. One is required to sign an order.

The minimum investment in bonds is Kshs 50,000.00. Additional investments should be in lots of Kshs 50,000.00.

CDS 1
This form is completed by the investor who wishes to open a CDS account to trade in shares and bonds at the Nairobi Stock Exchange. The form is also used to change contact details or dividend disposal of an existing account.

CDS 2
This form is used to deposit share certificates into an existing CDS account (immobilization). The investor completes the form which is then forwarded to the Registrar for verification, who then advise the CDSC to credit the shares into the client’s CDS account.

CDS 3
This form is completed by the investor who wishes to withdraw their shares from the CDS system. Should such an investor wish to trade the same later, they must immobilize the shares back into their CDS account.

CDS 4A/B
This form is completed by the investor who wishes to transfer their securities from one CDA (Stockbroker or Custodian) to another.

CDS 5
This form is used for borrowing money against securities held in the CDS account. The form is completed and signed by the investor and the CDA as evidence and authenticity of ownership of the securities. The lending institution then signs and delivers the form to CDSC through the CDA for their action. The form must be accompanied by a letter in duplicate copy written to the CDSC by the lender giving instructions to place a lien on the shares. The CDSC ensures that the lenders interests are protected until the loan is fully paid. A fee of Kshs 1,000 is payable to the CDSC for this service.

CDS 6
This form is used to release securities for which the loans have been repaid. The lending institution signs and stamps the form and sends the form to the CDSC through us, the CDA, with a letter in duplicate copy requesting the release of the shares and KShs 1,000 payable to the CDSC. The form is also used to deposit foreclosure securities for the purpose of sale once an individual has defaulted.

CDS 7
This form is used for private transfers of securities from one account to another. Approval for private transfers must be obtained in accordance with the CMA requirements before submitting the form to CDSC for action.

This is the process of converting certificated shares to electronic form in CDSC.

One is required to fill a CDS 3. Kshs 500 is charged by the CDSC for every certificate withdrawn from CDSC. The certificate however must be immobilized in order to trade.

This is a record keeper of shareholders of a listed company.

A CDS 4 form needs to be filled in order to move shares from one broker to another. This form indicates where the shares are being transferred from, and where you would like them to be transferred to. The form needs to be signed by both brokers.

Execution of orders is determined by demand and supply at the market.

Yes. A Pledge form (CDS 5) is used to take a loan with shares as collateral. These shares are frozen so that they cannot be sold until the loan is fully paid off.

The lender completes a pledge discharge form (CDS 6) and forwards to the CDSC. The shares are then released and can be sold by the investor.

Your shares remain intact. When the suspension of the counter is lifted, you can then trade in the shares.

A trade takes 4 working days to settle.

Price spreads are set by the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Share prices change as follows;

• Below Kshs 20.00 – 0.05
• Kshs 21.00 to Kshs 50.00 – 0.25
• Kshs 51.00 to Kshs 100 – 0.50
• Above Kshs 100 – 1.00

No. Share prices can only go up or down by 10% from the previous days average prices. Prices must lie within this price range. In addition, price spreads must be considered when giving in orders as follows;

• Below Kshs 20.00 – 0.05
• Kshs 21.00 to Kshs 50.00 – 0.25
• Kshs 51.00 to Kshs 100 – 0.50
• Above Kshs 100 – 1.00

The stock market opens for trading at 9.00 am and closes at 3.00 pm, with the following sessions;

• Pre-open – 9.00 am to 9.29 am
• Auction – 9.30 am
• Regular trading – 9.31 am – 3.00 pm
• Close of trading – 3.00 pm

Dividends are sent to investors by the company registrars via cheque or EFT as specified in your CDSC account.

You are required to fill a CDS 1 form for change of bank details. This is forwarded to the CDSC who amend your bank details as requested.

We accept deposits in cash, cheque, RTGS, telegraphic transfer, or EFT. Account Name: CFCSTANBIC FINANCIAL SERVICES.
Bank name: CfC Stanbic Bank
Account No: 58904
Branch where account is held: Chiromo
Swift Code: SBICKENX
OR;
Account Name: CFCSTANBIC FINANCIAL SERVICES.
Bank name: Barclays Bank of Kenya
Account No: 1323088
Branch where account is held: Eldoret
Swift Code: BARCKENX
Kindly remember to always quote your CDS account number when transferring funds.

Once funds are deposited, one can place orders as soon as the funds are reflected in the CDS account.

OST stands for Online Share Trading. CSFS has developed a revolutionary Online Share Trading product developed to give investors real time access to their share trading accounts. Investors have direct access to investing in the Nairobi Stock Exchange using a customized trading system, Active Lite that gives real time access to; a. Transactional Statements b. Portfolio valuation c. Contract notes d. Order Status Tracking. The benefits include:
a. Transparency on your CDSC account
b. Convenience
c. Control
d. Efficiency
e. Time Saving
f. Access to real time market information

CfC Stanbic Financial Services offers its clients real time access to market prices, research information, and 24 hour access to their trading accounts giving them full control of their investments. The platform allows clients to place orders, view real time market prices, view their transaction statements, portfolio valuations, and contracts.

The online platform gives clients real time access to their transaction statements, 24 hours a day. Clients may also receive their transaction statements from any CfC Stanbic Financial Services branch.

To trade online at CSFS, one is required to first open a CDS account. Once the account is opened, the Online Share Trading account can be activated online by visiting our website to register. On registration, your log in and password details will be sent to you and you may proceed to enjoy the convenience of trading online.

One can log on to their Online Share Trading account at the next trading session.

There are no additional charges for trading online.

Charges are encountered only when a trade is executed as follow;

• For a consideration over Kshs 100,000 – 1.85%
• For a consideration below Kshs 100, 000 – 2.12%

These charges include brokerage commission and statutory charges.

Using the online share trading platform you can view the status of your order. From this platform you can also amend your unexecuted order.

By default, orders are valid for 7 calendar days, after which they expire if not executed. However, there is an option to place an order valid for a shorter period.

As long as an order has not been executed, the share price and quantity can be amended.

Our payment options are via EFT, cheque, telegraphic transfer, or RTGS. All that is required is a duly completed payment request.

The Online share trading customer service team can reset your password after receipt of your email request for a password reset. You will then be required to change the password on the first log on.

The Online Share Trading platform has a change password option where investors can change their passwords at any time. Mandatory password changes are every 30 days.

The order is sent to the market immediately after validation that takes milliseconds. Sales orders are validated for holdings while purchase orders are validated for funds.

Yes. Training is available to all online clients. There is also a manual available to all online share trading clients.

Yes. You are required to sign a mandate on account opening. This gives one person authority to trade on the account. This is the person given access to the account for online trading. For a corporation, the mandate must be accompanied by a board resolution giving the said person authority to trade on the account.

For assistance, kindly contact the OST customer care team on ost@stanbic.com.