4 things to remember before opening a Demat Account

With rising inflation, banks cannot provide decent interest rates on savings and deposits. New investors are shifting their focus to equities, Mutual Funds, and other market instruments to create a corpus. But if you want to trade in these market instruments, you need to open Demat Account.
While different depository partners can offer this service, you need to do your due diligence and consider important factors before opening the account. Here are a few things to consider:
 
Same broker for Demat and Trading Accounts
Typically, your Demat and Trading Accounts should be under the same broker. The broker considers the same documents for Demat and Trading Accounts and opens them simultaneously. Buying and selling equities becomes simple and seamless if your broker and DP are the same. You can even provide them with a power of attorney to conduct trades on your behalf.
 
Check the broker's reputation
Before you submit the Demat documents, you need to consider the broker's reputation. You should select a DP based on the services provided, over and above how routine transactions are done. Find out the time to convert your physical shares into dematerialised form. Also, research the efficiency of the DP and how they deal with customer complaints, pledges, liens, etc.
 
Consider the trading platforms
Nowadays, most brokers let you access Trading and Demat Accounts through a single platform. You can do transactions between your Savings, Trading, and Demat Accounts seamlessly. For this, ensure that your DP can provide this seamless platform to make the process easy. Find out the turnaround time for shares to be credited and debited. You need a DP who provides a platform that allows the entire transaction to be completed in T+2 days.
 
Account opening and maintenance charges need to be calculated
Brokers generally charge Demat Account opening and annual maintenance charges. Some brokers waive off the account opening charges as a customer acquisition tactic. However, if the account opening charges are waived, you may be charged a higher annual account maintenance fee. Therefore, opt for a broker who charges the account opening fee since maintenance fees are typically low.
Your Demat works in the same way as your Savings Account. But instead of holding, withdrawing, and depositing cash, you can hold, deposit, and withdraw your share market instruments. You can also discover the steps for opening the Demat online and offline. It prepares you for the forms to fill out and the documents needed for opening this account.