Online Unit Trusts FAQ

Investment Fund is an investment product and some Investment Funds would involve derivatives.  The investment decision is yours but you should not invest in that investment product unless the intermediary who sells it to you has explained to you that the product is suitable for you having regard to your financial situation, investment experience and investment objectives. Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited provides execution-only trading service over Online Unit Trusts and shall not advise you on the merits of a transaction, nor ensure the transaction is suitable for you.

We understand the need to manage your portfolio anytime. Now we enable you to trade investment funds via our Online Banking to ensure dealing with us is as convenient and flexible as possible.

Once you have applied the Investment Fund Services and registered Online Banking with us, you can start to trade online!
If you have any query regarding our Online Unit Trusts platform, feel free to contact your relationship manager or call us at 2886 8868. Below are the frequently asked questions for your reference:

Do I need to apply for Online Unit Trusts platform?
Customer to use Online Unit Trusts platform must have Investment Funds account and access to Online Banking. Upon your first logon, we will require you to read through and accept the Risk Disclosure as well as Terms and Conditions.

Upon my first time logon, it said suitability assessment will be carried out before any online subscription and/or switching orders are executed on Online Unit Trusts platform . What is suitability assessment?
When you try to place a subscription/switching order via Online Unit Trusts platform, you will be assessed by us if this particular instruction is suitable to you based on the available information provided by you to us and with reference a set of “Assessment Criteria”, such as your risk tolerance, investment objective, investment experience or knowledge, financial situation and financial needs.

When I try to place a subscription/switching order, I was told by the system that I need to provide consent for the use of Customer Deposit-related Information, what is that about?

In order for us to perform the suitability assessment during subscription/switching orders, we need to have access to and utilize your deposit related information. If you have either opt out or have not provided your consent, we will not be able to provide investment/wealth management services to you, in other words, we cannot proceed if the consent is not provided.

Also, this particular online update on your Customer Deposit-related Information Consent is only available during the Bank’s business hours.

If after the suitability assessment I am told that this order is not suitable for me, what should I do?

To protect client’s interest, Online Unit Trusts platform will NOT accept any subscription / switching instruction(s) under the following circumstances or for the following products:

– Instructions for products carrying higher risks as against the Assessment Criteria (See Question 2 on the examples of Assessment Criteria).
– Products requiring enhanced disclosures, e.g. Funds require Derivative Knowledge, SFC Unauthorised Funds.
– Clients who are age 70 or above

You may, however, give order instructions 1) physically at branch; and 2) after completing an enhanced order taking process with the Bank’s staff.

What is Customer Investment Profile?

Customer Investment Profile captures your overall general attitude towards investment risks as an investor. We need you to maintain a valid profile if you want to trade via Online Unit Trusts platform. You may review and update your Customer Investment Profile through Online Banking and SC Mobile instantly.

What transactions I can place via Online Unit Trusts?
You can place subscription, same fund house switching and redemption orders via Online Unit Trusts. For the steps to place an order, please can click here to visit our demo.

Are all types of Unit Trusts account holders able to place order via Online Unit Trusts?

Generally speaking, sole name account holder can place all types of orders via Online Unit Trusts, given that he/she has passed suitability assessment.

However, there are certain restrictions for some account type:

• Joint-name account holders are not able to place subscription, switching, and redemption order via Online UT
• Monthly Investment Plan account holders are not able to place lump-sum subscription order via Online UT.

Please note your trading activities at Online UT may be affected by your account status with the Bank. If you have any question assessing Online UT, please contact your Relationship Manager or our customer service hotlines for assistance.

What is the cut off time if I place my order through Online Unit Trusts? 
On any business day, we will process the orders placed before cut off time on the same day and have the orders passed to fund houses. The cut off time for different fund houses are NOT the same, mostly at 15:00 or 15:30. Please click here to see the list.

What are the normal dealing hours?
While you can place your investment fund orders via our Online Unit Trusts platform which operates 24 hours a day, please note that the Bank will only process the orders on business day only. We will process the orders placed before cut off time on the same day; otherwise, on the next business day.

Yet, even the Bank has processed the orders to fund house, the order may not be executed on the day if it is not a valid dealing day for the fund you have submitted order for. For example, a fund may not provide dealing when a market where it has significant holding on is closed for public holiday. The definition of dealing day is not the same across different funds. Please refer to the fund’s offering document before order placement.

When will the debiting be done for subscription orders through Online Unit Trusts?
Real time if you submit orders before cut off time. Or else, the debit will happen at around 10:00 a.m. on the next business day (also the transaction date as indicated on the confirmation screen).

Please note that if we cannot debit your subscription amount on the transaction date, for example, due to insufficient settlement funds, the order will be rejected. Kindly review order status to ensure your order is placed successfully. We will inform you by written for any orders being rejected.

What is the minimum amount for each subscription?
HKD1,000 per subscription or its equivalent for all funds except for Class B funds.

How quickly can I get the proceeds after I redeem a fund?
Proceeds from a sale will normally be released within 5 – 14 business days after fund house confirms the price. If the fund does not provide daily dealing, you may need to expect a longer redemption process. Please refer to the fund’s offering document for further dealing details.

Why not all of my saving/ current accounts can be used for subscription/ redemption?
We only accept Integrated Deposits Account and Statement Savings/ Current Account for settlement purpose. We are afraid passport saving will not be accepted.

Why can’t I subscribe or switch-in some of the funds via Online Unit Trusts?

This may be because the fund was not available on the Online Unit Trusts platform. For funds which require enhanced disclosures, e.g. Funds require Derivative Knowledge, SFC Unauthorised Funds, are made unavailable via Online Unit Trusts. However, you may give instruction after completing an enhanced order taking process with the Bank’s staff over the phone or meeting at branch.

Can I cancel/amend my orders?

No. Once submitted via Online Unit Trusts, the orders cannot be amended. Cancellation cannot be done online, but we will accept cancellation through Branch Sales Staff or Investment Hotline (2886 8868), of which details are displayed in Online Unit Trusts. Please ensure there is at least 30 minutes before branch cut-off. Once the deadline is passed, no cancellation requests will be handled

How average unit cost is calculated?
The average unit cost is your total investment amount divided by your holding units. Total investment amount refers to the gross amount (i.e. before fee) you have invested in the particular fund. Unit Dividend and Cash Dividend are distributions made by the fund and hence not included as investment amount.

Please note that the figure is for reference only and may not truly reflect the average unit cost of your holding since your purchase. For any transfer in transaction, no matter it is through external or internet, the last available indicative price on or before the actual date of transfer has been adopted for calculation.

How unrealised profit/loss is calculated?
Unrealised profit/loss is calculated by (The fund’s latest price – Average Unit cost) * Holding unit. The figure is for your reference only.

Why the fund price quoted on the site is not the price of as today?
The unit price of investment fund on any business day can only be calculated after all the relevant market closure and will be announced on the next business day.

What is the difference between Order Status and Transaction History?
You can find orders not yet settled under Order Status for your tracking. Once we settle the orders, for subscription and switching, units will be allocated to your investment fund account; for redemption, proceeds will be credited to your settlement account.

All settled orders will be displayed under Transaction History. You can retrieve transactions of up to 30 days in the past year at any one time.

We will process the investment fund orders placed before cut off time on the same day and have them passed to fund houses. The cut off time for different fund houses are NOT the same, either at 15:30 or 16:00.

(The table is listed in alphabetical order.)

*All Aberdeen funds’ and JPMorgan funds’ cut off time are at 15:30 and 16:00 respectively, except for the below 5 funds of which their cut off time are at 15:00.