Which is better? DBS Vickers (CDP) or custodian Account?

CDP pros:

stocks are under your name. If broker runs away (unlikely for dbs) your stocks are still with you

Dividends paid directly to ur bank account

You can sell thru other brokers who are linked to CDP (if you decide not to use dbs vickers)

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CDP cons:

Expensive commission fees

Only for SG stocks

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Custodian pros:

Cheaper commission fees

International market

Can only buy and sell in the platform, hard to transfer stocks from one brokerage to another

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Custodian cons:

Stocks are owned by them, and parked into your acc. Anything goes wrong, idk what happens to your shares

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I mitigate each cons by (1) Using brokerages which are well known and has long history in market (ibrk, TD ameritrade) (2) Using CDP acc for very long term SG investments, using custodian acc for shorter term trading, for stocks that has more frequent DCAs (dollar cost averaging) to reduce cost due to commissions

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Hi Keith,

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CDP is only for stocks listed on the singapore stock exchange.

Pros:

• stocks are under your name, allowing you to vote and attend AGM
• dividends can be paid directly to you bank account

Cons:

• higher commission fees ($10 vs $2 for custodian accounts)

That being said, here is how i use CDP and custodian account. If I am buying REITs or singapore blue-chips that I wish to hold for as long as possible to collect dividends, I use DBS vickers so that these stocks go into my CDP account. If I am buying and holding for a few years, I will opt to use a custodian broker such as tiger brokers.

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hope this helps!