Make no mistake, there is a lot of paperwork and stuffing around involved. I had to ring Commsec 1 more than once to get help with parts of the transfer form (from Computershare to Commsec) that I had filled out incorrectly. (They aren't actually allowed to advise you how to fill in the form, but they can give you broad hints and tell you when you get it wrong!)
Same with the form to avoid paying US withholding tax, etc. Commsec has a sample form with help on filling it out, but I still had to get some additional help as my brain turns to mushroom linguini when I see a form with unfamiliar phrases on it.
Good news is that your destination broker will probably be helpful, as they know they will get the brokerage when you sell. Commsec certainly were, although if you're not eligible for Commsec 1 they mightn't be quite as sprightly. On the Commsec International site if you make a mistake your form is saved and you only have to go back and correct the error; you don't have to start from scratch again. So just chip away at it and you'll get the BNTCs into your account eventually.
As for whether you made a good decision to hold on and go through the red tape wringer rather than sell at 0.026 (their last sale price on the ASX) well... as I write this, yes you did. BNTC pushed through US 9.00 last night and at the prevailing exchange rate that is a bucket load more than what your old BLT holding was worth. (USD 9.17 currently converts to over AUD 13.00, but let's be conservative and call it 13.00 then divide that by 300 = 0.043. That's a pretty good reward for grappling with a few forms.
Apart from the gain in value, you can also use your BNTC as a currency play by trying to sell at a time when you think the AUD is relatively weak against the greenback. Worth remembering is that if the market falls out of bed again it creates a risk off environment and the AUD weakens and therefore softens any fall in the BNTC share price. So you have something of a built in insurance policy.
The stock's been a flea ridden dog, obviously, but lately it has been yapping a bit and I'm reluctant to put it down.
BLT Price at posting:
2.6¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
