[Big J]

Hi, i am looking for some good advice on selling shares i earned through my work and i would like to cash them in and don`t really know what/who is best to deal with, please help and advise me on this.

[Richard Berry]

Long gone are the days when you could walk into your local bank and sell share certificates over the counter. Today it is still possible, but a bit more complicated.

Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell told us that “If you hold share certificates, you just need to get in touch with a broker to sell, who will be able to cash them in for you, though there will be a commission to do so, and this is likely to be higher than trading online because the shares are held in certificated form.

“It’s also possible there could be tax implications as part of the sale, depending on how much profit you have made and how you acquired the shares in the first place.”

However, Hargreaves Lansdown, gave us a bit more information depending on different circumstances, saying “it’s a process that has a few steps to it, and those steps vary slightly depending on how the shares are held and how long has passed since the Save As You Earn (SAYE) scheme matured.

It also assumes the shares they hold are in a UK-listed company.”

Depending on how you hold the shares and when the Save As You Earn Scheme matured, there will be a few different options for how you can sell up. For example, if you’re able to transfer them directly into an investment ISA before selling, you’ll avoid any CGT liability. Your best bet would be to contact an investment platform and talk through the best path to take.”

Full information on how to transfer shares from a SAYE scheme is available on the HL website. For any further help, your reader can contact our Helpdesk on 0117 900 9000.

In summary, once someone has bought the shares available to them through the SAYE scheme, they have three options:

• Keep the shares in certificated form or in a standard investment account
• Sell the shares
• Transfer the shares into a pension or an ISA directly with 90 days of the end of the scheme, which wouldn’t count as a disposal for capital gains tax reasons – it would then be possible to sell the shares within the tax wrapper if desired

If more than 90 days have passed, then to sell the share certificates, your reader will need to open an HL Fund and Share Account and deposit the shares electronically, at no cost, before then instructing an online sale and withdrawing the proceeds.

1. Open an HL Fund and Share Account
2. Complete the attached CREST Transfer Form
3. Send us the completed form with the original share certificates
4. We’ll process the lodgement, and your reader will then be able to hold the shares, view the latest value, and sell when they wish
5. Shares can then be sold online
6. The proceeds can then be paid to their bank account

Full detail of the process is available online, by selecting “share certificates” from the dropdown menu.

If 90 days haven’t passed since the maturity of the SAYE scheme, your reader can transfer them into an ISA or SIPP prior to selling in order to avoid any potential capital gains tax liability.

If the shares are held as certificates, they will need to complete the attached CREST Transfer Form as well as the SAYE Form.

Full details of what’s required in this scenario are included on the form.

[Author]

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