The administration of investments closely supports the investment process.
- Safe custody of assets
- Share events
- Reporting
- Termination
Safe custody of assets
The distinction between management and custodian roles is important for security, and is an established practice internationally.
Your scrip and cash balances are held by an independent custodian, usually a major commercial bank, with shares being registered in the nominee company of the custodian.
Any transfers out of your accounts, other than for investment purposes, can only be made on written request by you.
Share events
We administer all matters of your portfolio, such as rights issues, scrip dividends, share splits and similar events.
Income distributions are made on instruction or reinvested in the portfolio.
Reporting
In addition to a monthly statement detailing all transactions, including income, at Melville Douglas we encourage regular meetings with you to review the investment strategy, portfolio structure and performance.
Furthermore, you can use our secure password-enabled system, updated daily, to electronically access your information through our website.
And as for personal administration, our systems will provide you with supplementary transactional reports, such as full income and capital gains tax transactional reports on an annual basis.
Termination
Terminating an investment management contract with Melville Douglas only requires 30 days’ notice, and carries no penalties.
If you do want to liquidate a portfolio, we do, however, recommend that you give as much notice as possible in order to ensure that investments are realised at the best prices.
Alternatively, you may take control of the portfolio and maintain the relationship with the custodian.