Singapore has the highest proportion of online share traders among six countries.
In the latest global survey released last Wednesday of over 90,000 traders and investors in the US, UK, Australia, Germany, France and Singapore, Australia-based research house Investment Trends found that our little red dot had the highest adoption levels of online trading.
"Even though Singapore is the smallest among the countries studied by Investment Trends, it has by far the highest adoption levels of online share investors, with 235,000 current online share investors among an adult population of around four-and-a-half million," said Mr Uwe Helmes, senior analyst at Investment Trends.
Last Monday, The Straits Times reported that remisiers here are finding it tough these days due to several reasons, including young investors doing it on their own with a click of a button.
The findings from the survey confirm this.
The Singapore-centric report, called Investment Trends 2013 Singapore Online Broking Report, found that 76 per cent of traders and investors here use mobile trading to invest.
Another 21 per cent of traders and investors here intend to start mobile trading in the next 12 months.
The brokerages here agree.
Mr Chuah Lai Hock, head of retail equities with Maybank Kim Eng Securities Singapore, said they have seen a bigger increase in clients who trade online, compared to those who want traditional brokers and remisiers to help them trade their stocks and shares.
HIGH SMARTPHONE USE
"We believe this is largely attributed to Singapore's high penetration of smartphones and tablets, coupled with the security and growing popularity of online transactions."
Mr Yeo Leong Hui, head of iOCBC and market development with OCBC Securities, said that currently, more than 85 per cent of its existing clients hold an online trading account.
There has been a 40 to 50 per cent increase in trade value conducted via its mobile trading application from 2012 to 2013, he added.
He said: "Younger traders generally prefer the freedom to trade independently online. The recent increase in smartphone adoption has also led to the growth of trading via mobile devices even for less experienced traders."
He believes the online trading platform complements the remisiers or trading representatives (TR).
"TRs continue to maintain a critical role in the broking business as they are able to provide personalised service and professional market views to clients, given their knowledge of clients' investment portfolio.
"There are clients who are willing to pay a premium for personalised service as they do not have the time to monitor their portfolio or the market regularly," he said.
Mr Leong Wei Ping, 37, is one of the many traders who have joined the ranks of those trading online.
From the confines of his bedroom, the former auditor trades an average of two hours daily and has made about US$1 million (S$1.25 million) in net profit off his original capital of US$20,000, which he gradually increased to US$200,000.
The businessman and full-time trader previously traded via a remisier for about eight years before he switched to doing it by himself online.
"The commission is cheaper and it is more convenient. Sometimes, the remisier is not as responsive," he said.
This article was first published on July 3, 2014.
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