Share investments are often held by custodians. Who are they, what do they do and are they safe? Posted ThuThursday 4 updated ThuThursday 4 MarMarch 2021 at 8:56pm Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch 4 (Michael Janda) Print text only Australia's biggest broker, CommSec, said the number of first-time traders more than doubled. Data from the financial regulator, ASIC, shows a record 110,000 share-trading accounts were opened in March alone, as Australia went into lockdown and share prices bottomed. The fad has continued into 2021, with another 51,000 accounts opened in January.