Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) – Meaning, Content, Importance, Online CAS

Mutual fund investments have been a good investment option for the majority of investors. It is crucial for the investors to know the performance of the fund so they can make timely decisions regarding their investments. Such details are provided by the mutual funds through a Consolidated Account Statement. 

Given below are a few basic details of such Consolidated Account Statement (CAS).   

What is a consolidated account statement (CAS)?

A consolidated account statement as the name suggests is the combined statement of all the financial transactions of the investor over the period of a month. Such transactions can be relating to any mutual fund or any other securities held in Demat form. As per the recent amendment by SEBI, all investors will be issued a CAS.

Such a statement can be received by them on or before the 10th of the following month for which CAS is issued. This statement will provide essential information to the investors like the NAV of the fund, NAV date, etc. Such CAS is available free of cost once a month in the physical form or soft copy. 

What are the contents of CAS?

CAS is generated and issued by depositories like i.e., NSDL or CDSL. The contents of a Consolidated Account Statement include details of all the transactions that have been conducted by the investor over the period of a month. Some examples of the transactions included in CAS are,

• Purchase of Units
• Redemption including maturity payments
• Switches
• Systematic transactions like SIP, SWP, STP etc.
• Dividend payments
• Reinvestment of dividend
• Merger of schemes
• Allotment of bonus units, etc.

CAS will include only transactions that are financial in nature. Non-financial transactions like a change of address, nomination details, bank details will not be reflected in a CAS. PAN number and Bank account details are also not included for safety purposes as well. 

Another important point to note is that only portfolios that have any transaction in the given month will be reflected in the CAS. This implies that if there are multiple portfolios held by the investor but only a few have any transaction in the previous month, only such portfolios will be mentioned in the CAS.

In the case of dormant portfolios, i.e., portfolios that have no activity for a period of 6 months, CAS will be provided at the end of every six months in October and April. 

Another important aspect included in the CAS is the investor details. Some of the investor details included in CAS are,

• Registered email address
• Nomination registration status
• Mode of holding
• KYC status
• ISIN
• Unique Client Code (UCC) for each portfolio and scheme
• Mobile phone number of the investor (if provided), is shown by masking the middle digits to maintain data confidentiality and privacy

When do you receive CAS?

A Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) is sent by the 10th of the following month for financial transactions made during the previous month. This statement provides a comprehensive view of all financial transactions carried out during the month, making it easier to manage and monitor your accounts.

Why is CAS important?

CAS is quite an important document to get the correct information relating to the portfolios. Some of the key factors that make CAS crucial are highlighted below.

1. Increases investor awareness

The prime reason for making CAS mandatorily available for every investor was to increase their awareness. CAS helps the investors get all the details about the fund house, current market price, NAV details and much more that can help them in making informed investment decisions.

2. Increases review of fund performance

CAS helps the investors to evaluate funds better. Investors can get details of the performance of the fund and can compare it to their peers or their historical performance. 

3. Increases avenues for better tax planning

Another important advantage is better tax planning. Investors can redeem funds based on the amount of tax that needs to be paid each year or the tax bracket that they fall in. This will help them avoid heavy tax liability for a financial year thus allowing them better tax planning.

Who sends the CAS?

For PANs that are common across both the Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs) and Depositories, Consolidated Account Statements (CAS) is generated and sent to investors by the Depositories (NSDL or CDSL). These statements include details of all financial transactions carried out in both mutual fund folios and depository accounts.

However, for mutual fund folios without a common PAN between the RTAs and the Depositories, the CAS is sent only by mutual funds and contains information on mutual fund transactions.

How to generate CAS online?

Investors can get access to consolidated account statements through online mode as well as offline mode.

The steps to get a CAS online are mentioned here,

1. The first step is to visit the website of CAMS at camsonline.com
2. After visiting the website, investors will have to click on ‘Investor Services’
3. Following this, investors will have to click on CAS – CAMS, Karvy, FT, SBFS
4. Investors will be taken to a new page where they will have to enter their email id and PAN number.
5. The next step is to select a suitable password that can be used to login into their registered account in the future.
6. Investors will be able to generate a password protected file that can be viewed by entering the password.

Conclusion

SEBI has revised its policy to provide a consolidated account statement to all the investors to promote investor awareness and to ensure that they can make informed decisions about their portfolios. Investors can get information about all the transactions made during the month as well as fund details. This will help them plan their investments as well as help in tax planning.

FAQs

1. Can an investor get duplicate CAS?
A. No. Duplicate CAS is not available for the past months. Investors can use their registered email id to get duplicate CAS through Registrars of mutual funds.

2. Can investors get a monthly statement of transactions from AMCs too?
A. AMCs provide a PDF account statement within 5 working days of each financial transaction provided the investor has a registered email id. 

3. Does the CAS mention the PAN number of the investor?
A. No. CAS will not mention the PAN number of the investor on account of safety precautions.

4. When will the CAS be received by the investors?
A. CAS will be received on the 10th of the following month reflecting all the financial transactions of the previous month.

5. What if there are no financial transactions in any particular month?
A. If there have been no financial transactions in any month then CAS will not be issued.

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