SmartShares just added a new investor portal for their existing investors. This portal makes it easier for investors to check and manage their SmartShares investment.

The Old Days…

In the past, if you join the SmartShares saving plan (a.k.a monthly contribution plan), you will have to register with Link Market Service with your CSN and FIN number to check the value of your holding. If you want to change your contribution level or make a lump sum investment, you will have to contact SmartShares by phone or email to arrange that.

Now with the new Investor Portal, SmartShares user can

• Actively manage their regular savings plan;
• Make lump sum contributions to their Smartshares account;
• Invest in additional ETFs without additional establishment fee; and
• View their investment balance

This service is available for all existing SmartShares saving plan client for free. Let’s check out the portal.

New Investor Portal

When you go to SmartShares website, you can see there is a new section on the top right “Existing Investor”.

Once you are in, you will need your CSN and FIN number to login.

Your CSN number will be on your SmartShares monthly statement, check your email. Your FIN was sent to you by mail when you first joined SmartShares. If you’ve lost it, you will need to contact Link Market Services to get a new one send to you by mail (I mean physical mail). They will NOT give out FIN over the phone or email.

Once you logged in, you can see your account info. (I will be using my son’s ETF account here.)

The next part is the breakdown of your current holding. It will show the fund, Units of ETF, the stock price of ETF, the current value of your holding and your current monthly contribution amount. You can change your monthly contribution amount here.

You can also make a lump sum contribution here. The minimum amount is $250.

The next part is the best function of this portal. Existing investors can add new fund without paying additional establishment fee!

What you’ll need to do is click on “Add Fund” and pick the fund you want to add, the initial investment amount (minimum $500) and monthly contribution amount (minimum $50/month). This benefit is only available for existing investor. If you are new investor, you will have to pay $30 establishment fee for once.

If you just need to check your holding value and don’t want to make any changes, you can just close your window or go to another web page (there is no logout button).

If you want to change your contribution amount, make a lump sum payment or add fund, you will have to click next at the bottom of the page and confirm your personal detail.

Conclusion

Overall, it makes sense for SmartShares investors to check and actively manage their holding on SmartShares website (Bye! Link Market Service). The interface is clean and easy to understand. I think its a bit odd to use your CSN and FIN to log in and I imagine some investors will have a hard time to find their FIN number.

The best thing is existing investors can add new fund easily, and don’t have to pay additional establishment fee.

With the new portal, it doesn’t mean it will replace Link Market Service. If you want to check transaction history, you still have to go back to Link Market Service. For other functions, SmartShares investor portal will take care of that.