Investors can now consider the convenience and security of using Investor Participant Accounts, the latest Dr Wise investment advice column on the Securities & Futures Commission website suggests.

Investor participant accounts can be opened in the Central Clearing & Settlement System (CCASS). An investor participant account is a direct custody account in CCASS for investors providing them with the convenience of electronic book-entry settlement.

An investor has full control of their shares kept in this investor participant account and only they can authorise the transfer of shares out of it. The investor can also give instructions to CCASS to subscribe for IPO shares through the account and the allotted shares will be credited to it. CCASS will also handle all the corporate actions relating to the shares, like dividend payments, rights issues and subscription.

Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company has launched a number of new features for its investor participant account service. Among them, the service window for inputting instructions into CCASS through the investor participant hotline or the Internet has been extended to almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Investors are now permitted to use a self-assigned user ID and password to access their online investor participant account. However, an e-Certificate will provide a higher level of security protection online.