A year later, that bet paid off in a big way, with the number of stock market accounts hitting a record 2.86 million, up 50.1 percent from 1.91 million in 2023.
“Increase in online accounts attributable to both GCash and Maya but primarily GCash,” PSE president and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said in a text message to InsiderPH.
It was around that time when GCash, the country’s largest mobile payments platform, and stock brokerage house AB Capital Securities partnered for GStocks, which reached 1.2 million within one year.
“We provided GCash and its broker, AB Capital, the trading platform to enable GCash subscribers to invest directly in stocks using the GCash app,” Monzon said.
Big picture
The unprecedented surge comes in a country where, historically, fewer than 1 percent of the population traded stocks.
This is caused by several factors, including high fees, taxes, and the limited investing capacity of many Filipinos.
This is starting to change. Recently, the PSE, with help from the Securities and Exchange Commission, removed minimum broker commissions.
Lower trading taxes could fuel a surge in volume
Starting July 1, the stock transaction tax will also be lowered under the newly signed Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act.
The tax cut from 0.6 percent to 0.1 percent starting July 1 will lower trading costs and make stock investing more accessible, especially for retail investors.
In an email to InsiderPH, one large international stock broker suggested the tax reduction will slash trading costs by 83 percent and boost daily trading volume by as much as 40 to 60 percent within a year.
More retail participation needed
This is good news as the PSE works to bolster retail participation.
“While growth in retail accounts has been remarkable, the real challenge is getting retail investors to participate more actively in our market as they only contribute 16 percent to total value turnover,” Monzon said.
Retail investors made up 98.9 percent of all account holders, while institutional investors held just 1.1 percent. Local investors owned 99 percent of all accounts, data from the PSE showed.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
