Keeping track of Standard Life shares

Members-turned-shareholders of Standard Life will have been relieved that the value of their shares rose 5 per cent on the first day of trading on the London stock exchange earlier this week.

But there are no guarantees, as a welcome pack posted to the new plc's shareholders warns: share prices can go up and down every minute of every business day.

Shareholders can check the share price for Standard Life plc by visiting its website at www.standardlife.com/shares or in this paper's markets page. Multiplying the current share price by the number of shares held will give the current total value of a shareholding in sterling.

This is not the amount that shareholders would receive if they sold their shares, as costs and charges will reduce the amount they would get for cashing in. Shareholders who do want to sell their shares, or buy more, can use Standard Life's telephone share dealing service, provided by Computershare.

To buy shares, investors will need to pay by cheque. When selling shares, the proceeds less the dealing charges will be sent by cheque. Shareholders can also sell their shares online at www.computershare.com. From October, they will be able to buy shares through the site.

Dealing charges for Republic of Ireland shareholders cost 0.5 per cent of the value of the deal if conducted via post or online (from October) and 1 per cent of the deal if conducted over the telephone. There is a minimum charge of €20 for postal dealing services and €32 for telephone and internet trades.

Stamp duty of 0.5 per cent is payable on all share purchases.

Shareholders who want to sell shares through a stockbroker or another share dealing service will first need to take shares out of the Standard Life share account. This can be done by requesting a share certificate for a fee of €15 or by transferring directly to another nominee for a fee of €22.

For those who stick with the company, Standard Life expects to pay its first dividend in May 2007. The payment will be in respect of the period from flotation through to the end of the year. After that, the company intends to pay interim dividends in November and final dividends in May of each year, with the interim dividend expected to represent around a third of the expected total annual dividend.

Members who kept the shares they received on demutualisation or bought more shares in the preferential offer scheme will be eligible to receive one bonus share for every 20 shares they hold continuously for the first year after flotation. If shareholders sell their shares before July 10th, 2007, they won't qualify for those bonus shares.

Transferring all or some of the shares to another person, even a member of the family, will mean the person won't qualify for bonus shares in respect of the shares transferred. However, transferring shares to another person who holds the shares as your nominee will not affect eligibility for the bonus scheme.

The company recommends that people who are considering transferring shares to someone else - for example, as a gift or for charitable reasons - should consult a financial adviser. There may be tax implications for transferring the shares.

• Standard Life's helpline for Republic of Ireland shareholders can be contacted on 01 4319829.