Book-entry account

Invest in shares or other exchange traded products as a better opportunity for returns.
1

Invest in stocks easily, by opening a book-entry account

After opening the account, you can trade in securities such as stocks and ETFs.

2

Low-cost investment

If you are an owner-customer or under 26 years old, you can open a book-entry account for free and invest without monthly charges.

3

Diversify between trading venues and asset classes

With a book-entry account, you can buy international stocks and securities listed outside Finland. Diversification could improve your expected return and reduce your risk.

4

Benefits for owner-customers when trading

Stock purchases via a book-entry account cost from 0.05% (min. 3 euros). In addition, owner-customers pay no more than a 1% fee for Finnish stock, which means that you can invest smaller sums, such as 100 euros.

Why open a book-entry account?

The key to investing is getting started. Opening a book-entry account is an easy way to start investing. Stock investment is one of the best ways to pursue returns. You can make good use of the compound interest effect by starting as early as possible, with a long investment period. 

With a book-entry account, you can invest in securities such as stocks, ETFs and structured investments. You can diversify your investments widely, with no deposit limit.

 

How do I open a book-entry account? How to get started

You can open a book-entry account easily online, but you’ll need to be an OP customer to do so. When opening a book-entry account, you must choose the service package that suits you. You can select between the Saver’s or the Investor’s service package.

Transfer of book-entry account

It’s easy to transfer a book-entry account and stock to us. In many cases, this is worth doing, because keeping all your stock with one bank will give you an overview of all your investments. You will also save on fees – investing through OP is always low cost. Transfer of a book-entry account takes around five days.

  1. Become our customer, if you haven’t done so already. 
  2. Click here to transfer a book-entry account
  3. You can send us the share purchase prices in a message via OP-mobile or the op.fi service.

Transfer of acquisition prices 

The acquisition prices of stocks (book-entry securities) are not automatically transferred alongside the stocks themselves. You can request the acquisition prices from your old stockbroker. Please send them to us on our Excel template. Add the prices to the Excel template and send the file as a message attachment via OP-mobile or the op.fi service.

 

Book-entry account taxation

Taxes due for a book-entry account are collected annually based on the sales profits and dividends for each year. Sales profits are taxed at 30–34% and dividends at 25.5–28.9%. In most cases, tax at source in excess of the Finnish dividend tax rate is taken into account and refunded in Finnish taxation. Capital losses on a book-entry account are tax-deductible in annual taxation: the deduction can be transferred to capital gains in the current and subsequent five years.

You can sell the stocks at any point. Any tax on profits and dividends will be withheld automatically.

At the end of each year, you will receive an account statement of your shareholdings and returns, such as dividends. This information is needed for taxation purposes. The tax authorities will automatically receive information on investments, but you should also check this information yourself.

 

Which stock and ETFs should I purchase for my book-entry account?

A investment portfolio should include stock in around 5–10 companies. You could start with one company and gradually diversify your portfolio to others. Alongside direct stock purchases, ETFs are a cost-effective way of further diversifying your portfolio. Diversification can help to level out investment risk and avoid major value fluctuations.

Most popular stocks and ETFs in 2023

Finnish equities International equities ETFs
Nordea Telia Company AB  ISHARES CORE S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD - ACC
FORTUM Corporation SSAB AB SER B ISHARES CORE MSCI EM IMI UCITS ETF - ACC
NOKIA Corporation Sotkamo Silver AB ISHARES GLOBAL CLEAN ENERGY UCITS ETF - USD DIS
Neste Corporation SSAB AB SER A XTRACKERS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BIG DATA UCITS ETF - 1C USD ACC
Sampo plc Tesla ISHARES NASDAQ 100 UCITS ETF USD ACC
UPM-Kymmene Corporation Wolkswagen AG L&G Hydrogen Economy UCITS ETF – USD ACCF
Nokian Tyres plc Novo Nordisk ISHARES S&P 500 HEALTH CARE SECTOR UCITS ETF - USD ACC
Valmet Corporation Ericsson SPDR S&P US DIVIDEND ARISTOCRATS UCITS ETF - USD DIS
MANDATUM plc Microsoft VANECK MORNINGSTAR US SUSTAINABLE WIDE MOAT UCITS ETF - A USD ACC
FINNAIR Corporation Investor AB SER B ISHARES CORE MSCI WORLD UCITS ETF - USD ACC

 

A book-entry account is intended for storing securities. A range of digital securities, such as stock, ETFs and bonds can be kept on book-entry accounts. For example, when you buy stocks or exchange traded ETFs, you won’t get a physical share certificate, but the assets will be recorded directly in your book-entry account.

Information recorded in your book-entry account includes the owner of the book-entry securities in the account, the number of book-entry securities and their type. Account details also specify the rights and limitations of the owner of book-entry securities.

This cherished child is known by many names: custody account, equity portfolio or investment portfolio.

If you want to start trading in US securities, please contact your bank by sending a message via OP-mobile or the op.fi service. You will need valid QI documentation in order to trade in US securities.
Book-entry account or equity savings account?
Which should I choose for my investments? The answer could be both.
Book-entry account for a child
Take advantage of the long saving period and aim for an effective return for your child’s savings with stocks.
International equity investment
More options. You will have thousands of shares from 15 different market venues around the world available to you along with over 2,000 ETF’s.
The book-entry account is provided by an OP cooperative bank. When investing, it’s wise to remember the associated risks. An investment’s value can either rise or fall, and there are no guarantees of recovering all your invested capital. OP doesn’t guarantee a return on your investment, and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Taxation is based on each customer’s circumstances and can change.