How to sell investments on Computershare

If you hold shares in certain companies, or own shares in the company you work for, then you might need to know about Computershare.

It’s a global transfer agent and share registrar, which also offers a limited trading function for existing investors here in the UK. Through its Investor Centre, it's possible to buy and sell shares - but it’s not always clear how to do it.

In this helpful guide for UK investors and share-holding employees, we’ll run through how to sell investments on Computershare. This includes a step-by-step look at the process, as well as trading fees, tax implications and how to receive the funds from any sold investments.

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When investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you put in. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to future change. The content of this article is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be, nor does it constitute, any form of personal advice.

Investments in a currency other than GBP are exposed to currency exchange risk. Currency exchange rates are constantly changing, which may affect the value of the investment in GBP terms. You could lose money in GBP even if the stock price rises in the currency of origin. Stocks listed on overseas exchanges may be subject to additional dealing and exchange rate charges, and may have other tax implications, and may not provide the same, or any, regulatory protection as in the UK.

Understanding Computershare

Computershare is a global financial administration company, which mainly acts as a transfer agent.

It manages share registries for over 25,000 public and private companies spread across 22 countries.¹ This means that it maintains the official records of each company’s shareholders, and handles the transfer of ownership when shares are bought or sold.

Computershare also manages share plans for employers, which is how you may end up using it - to manage investments you may have received through a company share plan.

It isn’t a broker or an online trading platform, although it does offer limited investor services through its dedicated Investor Centre.

What is Computershare and how does it manage investments?

Before we get into how to sell investments with Computershare, it’s useful to know a little more about what it is and how it works.

The first thing to know is that it doesn’t work like a trading or investment platform. It only manages direct, issuer-sponsored holdings.

As a shareholder of one of Computershare’s clients, you should be able to manage your portfolio online, which includes:

• Viewing your investments
• Checking balances
• Viewing your transaction history
• Updating bank and personal details
• Receiving tax documents.

You can also sell some shares through the Computershare Investor Centre portal. However, not all shares can be sold online - you’ll need to search for the company and see if online share dealing is available.

Reasons to sell investments

There are a few different reasons you may want to sell your investments, such as:

• You’ve reached a long-term investment goal or a major life change (i.e. retirement)
• Profit-taking - your shares reach the ideal price and it’s time to sell up to achieve the desired returns
• It’s time to cut your losses - if your investments have deteriorated in value due to poor performance over a long period, it might be time to sell up and invest elsewhere
• Balancing out your portfolio - you can use the funds from the sale of one investment to fund others, to diversify your portfolio and reduce risk.
• Account closure - you might decide to move to a different investment platform, and it’s not possible to transfer your investments across.

📚 How to sell shares

How to sell on Computershare: Step-by-step guide

Now, let’s take a look at how you’ll actually sell investments on the Computershare Investor Centre portal, walking through it step-by-step.

Before you start, it’s really important that you make sure you have your share certificate. You may need this in order to sell your investments.²

Step 1: Register for the Registry Share Dealing Sales Service

In order to sell investments via Computershare, you’ll firstly need to become a member of the Investor Centre. You simply need to click ‘Register now’ on the company’s website homepage.

Step 2: Log in to your account

Sign into your account using the details you’ve signed up with. You can either do this online, or using the Computershare Investor Center mobile app.

Step 3: Navigate to holdings

Once you’ve logged in, you’ll need to navigate to your portfolio and see your current holdings. If you don’t yet have an account, you can check whether the shares can be sold using the online trading service by typing the company name in here.

If you don’t yet have an account, you may need your unique Shareholder Reference Number (SRN) to identify your holdings.

Step 4: Select the specific asset

Find the shares you’d like to sell, click the 'Actions' dropdown menu next to the holding and select 'Sell'.

Step 5: Choose order type

Choose the order type - market order or limit order. A market order happens immediately at the best available current price, while a limit order only executes at a specific designated price or better.

You’ll also need to enter the quantity (or value) of shares you’d like to sell.

Step 6: Execute the sale

Check all of the details carefully, and make sure you understand any implications (for example, tax) of selling your investments. Once you’re happy, confirm and execute the sale.

Receiving your money from Computershare

Once you’ve completed the online steps to sell investments, the next thing you’ll want to know is how you’ll receive your money.

Unlike with trading and investment platforms, you may not be able to receive it by bank transfer to a nominated bank account. Computershare says that it only sends sale proceeds by cheque to registered shareholders at their registered address.²

How long will it take?

It takes 3 working days for nominee trades to settle with Computershare, and up to 10 working days for certificated trades. This is due to the extra time required for you to send your share certificate to the company.²

Computershare fees and charges

As well as knowing how to sell investments on Computershare, you’ll also need to know how much it costs.

The fees, commissions and other charges which apply to share dealing via the Computershare Investor Centre vary - depending on the company whose shares you’re selling, as well as the order type. There may also be foreign exchange fees if you’re selling international shares in another currency.

You should see all fees before confirming the transaction, and you can also search for a particular company here to see the indicative fees.

Moving cash to your account

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to transfer cash from an investment sale directly into a bank account with Computershare. It issues cheques instead, sent to your registered shareholder address.²

You’ll need to then deposit the cheque with your bank, which of course means waiting longer to receive the funds into your bank account.

Can you receive your money into your Wise account?

No, it’s not currently possible to receive money from selling investments on Computershare into your Wise account. This is because Computershare only issues sales proceeds by cheque, not by bank account.

If you’re selling shares on another investment platform though, Wise could be the ideal solution.

With Wise, you can get local account details so you can receive multiple currencies. All you need to do is enter these account details when setting up your nominated account on your trading platform of choice.

This is particularly useful if you’re investing in international assets, as it means that you can receive money directly in that currency without the platform or your bank carrying out a currency conversion and charging you a foreign exchange fee.

You can use Wise to convert the currency instead, as it uses the mid-market exchange rate (with no mark-ups) and low, transparent fees*.

Looking for an alternative way to help grow your income? Check out Wise Interest.

Simply open a Wise account online and switch on Interest to help earn returns - while still having easy access to your money.

Investments can fluctuate, and your capital is at risk. Interest is offered by Wise Assets UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Wise Payments Ltd. Wise Assets UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with registration number 839689. When facilitating access to Wise investment products, Wise Payments Ltd acts as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Wise Assets UK Ltd. Please be aware that we do not offer investment advice, and you may be liable for taxes on any earnings. If you're uncertain, we urge you to seek professional advice. To find out more about the Funds, visit our website.

What’s more, you can use your Wise account to manage your money in 40+ currencies and send worldwide transfers with low fees* and at the mid-market exchange rate with no mark-ups.

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Other important factors to consider

There are a few other factors to consider when selling investments, such as tax implications and platform restrictions.

Tax implications

If you sell investments and make a profit, you may have to pay UK Capital Gains Tax (CGT). Everyone gets an annual CGT allowance of £3,000 per tax year, so any profits above this may be subject to CGT.³

There may also be implications if you’re transferring shares over to the UK from overseas, or vice versa.

If you’re unsure what your tax obligations are or what the impact of selling investments will be, it’s always best to seek professional advice.

📚 How to transfer Australian shares to a UK account

Dealing with restrictions

There are a few restrictions and limits you’ll need to navigate past in order to sell investments with Computershare. This includes:²

• Needing your share certificate in order to sell - if you’ve lost it, you’ll need to wait until you’ve got a Letter of Indemnity and lodged it with the company
• Limits on online transactions - Computershare has a maximum sale amount of £50,000 via its online Investor Centre. If your sale has a higher value than this, you’ll need to use the Telephone Share Dealing Service.

Save money when selling investments with Wise

After reading this, you should have a better idea of how to sell investments on Computershare. We’ve looked at the process, as well as potential costs, timescales and tax implications.

While it may not work with Computershare, you may want to consider using Wise as your nominated account with other trading platforms. If you trade international shares - or are interested in doing so in the future - then having a multi-currency account could be extremely useful.

Wise gives you full control of currency conversions, so you don’t get stung by high FX fees and can save money whenever you trade.

🌍 Open your Wise account

Additional FAQs on selling shares with Computershare

How do I sell paper share certificates on Computershare?

If you have physical paper share certificates, you’ll need to register the certificate details with Computershare. You can use the online share dealing service in the Investor Centre to sell the shares, and then post the paper share certificate to Computershare along with a signed transfer form.

What is the difference between a Batch Order and a Market Order on Computershare?

A batch order consists of multiple sell requests for an asset, to be executed together. A market order is a single request to sell shares as soon as possible, for the best currently available price.

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Sources used:

1. Computershare - no of clients and countries
2. Computershare - restrictions and limits
3. Fidelity - Capital Gains Tax allowance

Sources last checked on date: 09-Feb-2026