If you’ve invested in stocks for a while, you may noticed some shares in your portfolio with weird quantities.
What’s an odd lot share?
Odd lot shares refer to shares that do not meet the requirements of a standard lot. In SGX, the standard lot size is 100 shares.
Some of these odd lots could have come from the issuance of share dividends, reverse stock splits, or dividend reinvestment plans.
You could continue to hold them if you wish to continue owning the company. However, if you’re reading this, you’re probably looking for a way to sell your odd lot shares.
Here’s how.
How to sell odd lot shares in SGX?
If you’ve tried to sell your odd lot shares, you might have encountered some difficulty when trying to put a sell order on your brokerage platform.
But fret not, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with those shares.
SGX has a Unit Share Market where you can sell your odd lots, and it is accessible through many stock brokers in Singapore:
Brokerages that allow you to sell odd lot shares in Singapore
| Broker | How to sell? | Commission (for trades S$50,000 and below) |
|---|---|---|
| CGS-CIMB Securities | Offline, via Trading Rep | Minimum S$40 or 0.5% of contract value |
| DBS Vickers | Offline, via phone. | Minimum S$40 or 0.375% of contract value |
| FSMOne | Offline, via phone. | Same online commission rates as per Ready Market |
| Lim & Tan | Online, via the Lim and Tan online brokerage platform. You can access the SGX Unit Share market within the platform. | Same online commission rates as per Ready Market |
| Maybank Kim Eng | Offline, via Trading Rep | Minimum S$40 or 0.5% of contract value |
| OCBC Securities | Online, via the iOCBC platform. You can access the SGX Unit Market via the Market Information tab. | Same online commission rates as per Ready Market |
| Phillip Securities | Online, via POEMS 2.0 platform. Or offline, via Trading Rep. | Same online commission rates as per Ready Market |
| Standard Chartered | Online via trading platform | Same online commission rates as per Ready Market |
| UOB Kay Hian | Online via UTRADE platform. You can find the SGX Unit Share market under the market drop-down menu. Or offline, via Trading Rep. | Same online commission rates as per Ready Market |
For more information or the normal commission rates, read our guide on the brokerage accounts in Singapore.
What is the process of selling odd lot shares in Singapore?
Depending on your broker, you can either sell your odd lot shares via the online brokerage by accessing the SGX Unit Share market (see table above), calling their customer service hotline or speaking to your trading representative.
Do note that if you’re selling via a phone trade or your trading representative, there’ll usually be a higher commission to sell your odd lot shares.
FAQs
Do odd lots cost more?
In the past, odd lot share orders tend to cost more as most brokers could only process them manually.
However, if you refer to the table above, you’d notice that today several brokers like Phillip Securities, Lim & Tan, Standard Chartered and UOB Kay Hian allows us to access the SGX Unit Share market directly from their online trading platforms. In such cases, the commission rates are the same as trading standard lots.
However, you should note that it may take a longer time for odd lot share orders to be processed due to the lower trading volume available.
What is a Unit Share Market?
The Unit Share Market is a market by Singapore Exchange (SGX) that permits the trading of odd lots in amounts less than the board lot size. The unit share market is separate from the SGX ready market where trades are done in the standard broad lot sizes.