PARTICIPANT SPONSORSHIP

If you buy or sell securities in ASX Listed companies, the settlement occurs through the ASX's Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS). CHESS facilitates the holding of securities electronically, in one of two ways:

on the CHESS subregister, maintained by CHESS, or
on Issuer Sponsored subregisters, maintained by the company who issued the securities.

To be registered on the CHESS subregister, you need to be sponsored by an approved CHESS Sponsor (we are approved as a CHESS Sponsor). We require each client to sign a Participant Sponsorship Agreement (see [here]), which allows us to act as agent in the settlement and transfer of securities, subject to the conditions of the Agreement. It is not an arrangement whereby we hold your securities in custody, nor are your investments managed by us.

There are many benefits to Participant Sponsorship, including:

prompt registration and confirmation of holdings for purchases, corporate issues, with automatic updating of holdings such as in relation to dividend reinvestment plans (DRP's);
one Holder Identification Number (HIN) for all holdings per each account, making paperwork easier to maintain. In contrast, Issuer Sponsorship results in you receiving one Shareholder Reference Number (SRN) per holding - meaning you may have multiple numbers to record; and
We do not currently charge for CHESS sponsorship of clients - although fees may be incurred for various administrative reasons, such as processing off-market transfers.

For further information on Participant Sponsorship, please contact your adviser designated client representative.