A demat account holds all your securities, stocks, shares, bonds, etc. in an electronic format. Demat is a short form of the word dematerialisation, which refers to the process to converting securities into an electronic form. Before the introduction of the demat account in 1996, traders had to deal with the inconvenience of using physical copies of shares certificates that had to be verified at each point of transaction. Trading was tedious and a slow process owing to the cumbersome process of managing securities. With the introduction of demat account, these problems were eliminated to a great extent.

If you are thinking of trading in the stock market, you may have heard of two accounts. You need a Demat account and a trading account for stock market investing. However, while you need both these accounts, their functionality is different. Understanding the differences between them can help you start your investment journey in the stock market.

Any Individual, who is a Resident of India, HUF, NRI, Foreign National Citizen, Proprietary firm, Partnership firm, Company and Foreign Company can open a trading account with us. However, the online account opening facility is limited to Indian resident individuals only.

You need to open a Demat account with a stockbroker to apply for an IPO. After you have successfully opened a Demat account, you can apply for an IPO either online or offline.

When investing in the Indian financial market, you need to know words like 'dematerialisation' and 'rematerialisation'. They are critical processes that enable you to manage your investments without effort, making your shares and securities readily available. However, it's easy to confuse the meaning and functioning of these two terms. Our detailed guide will help you understand both processes better and talk about buying and selling dematerialised securities.

Company Fixed Deposit (corporate FD) is a term deposit which is held over fixed period at fixed rates of interest. Company Fixed Deposits are offered by Financial and Non- Banking financial companies (NBFCs). The maturities of various company fixed deposits can range from a few months to a few years.

A bond is simply a loan taken out by a company. Instead of going to a bank, the company gets the money from investors who buy its bonds. In exchange for the capital, the company pays an interest coupon, which is the annual interest rate paid on a bond expressed as a percentage of the face value. The company pays the interest at predetermined intervals (usually annually or semiannually) and returns the principal on the maturity date, ending the loan.

These include equity shares of a company that is not listed on BSE/NSE, these shares are traded over the counter (OTC). These companies can be companies which are privately held, formerly public companies taken private in management buyouts, public companies which are not yet listed on a recognized stock exchange etc.