Online trading revolutionizes investments in stock market

Increasing Internet penetration and more affordable cost of connectivity have heightened the attractions of online trading in the Philippines and throughout the region, officers of CitisecOnline, an online stock brokerage firm, observe.

Promising greater financial independence to investors through online tools and the free flow of market information, stock market trading via the Internet is already revolutionizing the investment habits of Asians in more developed countries.

CitisecOnline president Conrado Bate disclosed that following the lead of Japan and South Korea where online trading has a substantial following, the company’s online facility already counts customers that cut across geographic locations as well as demographic lines.

Its top clients, including individuals from the Visayas, account for a monthly average turnover of P5 million each.

Officers of the leading innovator in online stock trading are hopeful that as Filipino Internet users shoot up from the 11.8 million in 2004 to 21.5 million in 2008 as estimated by the IDC, so will the number of online traders.

They are counting on the experience of Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong where the number of online traders grew as Internet penetration increased.

In Japan, for instance, Internet penetration stands at 61 percent of the population and 70 percent of those who participate in the stock market do so through online facilities.

With a registered paid-up capital of P300 million, CitisecOnline is well-funded to stay at the forefront of the industry and to convince more individuals to engage in online trading through an aggressive marketing and educational campaign, Bate said.

The company is managed by professionals in the financial and IT industries. CitisecOnline is also a member of the Hong Kong Exchanges.

Bate said CitisecOnline and online trading in general have leveled the playing field for stock market investors.

Online participation has allowed investors to take direct control of their investments, placing orders at their pace, at their desired price and time. They have also been freed from their reliance on personal brokers who can only manually process so many orders during peak trading hours.

Just recently, CitisecOnline also began offering digitized trading through WAP-enabled mobile phones and PDAs.

Bate said, "CitisecOnline has empowered the individual retail customer by providing him with data anytime, anywhere. This feature allows him to make keen investment decisions."

Key information such as most active stocks, the top 20 gainers and losers, heavily traded stocks and many more are now broadcast more transparently and efficiently through the company’s site. Such information did not come easily or freely through the traditional stock broker routes.

Juanis Barredo, CitisecOnline vice president, said, "We have overcome the boundaries of distance without compromising security."

He added that the firm uses full proprietary messaging formats and encryption. "All databases are secured via firewalls. Equipped with a security-hardened Linux operating system, the firewall is dedicated to the specialized task of Internet security and our network interface is independently monitored," he said.

Convinced of the stock market’s unparalleled capacity to multiply investments, CitisecOnline hopes to give customers eventual access to global markets and products, Bate said.

He also revealed that the use of the online platform could attract as many as 250,000 market participants, half of the initial subscriber base of Petron Corp.’s IPO in 1994. The Petron IPO is one of the most widely placed offerings in the history of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

CitisecOnline hopes to convert the majority of current investors, who now trade through traditional brokerages, to online trading, offering commissions of as low as 0.25 percent, automatic settlement of trade, off-hours trade placement, fundamental and technical analysis, and other features.

It has a customer service center to assist clients in opening an account, site navigation and various technical matters.

CitisecOnline is also launching a seminar series to foster investor education. A stock market primer, along with an online trading seminar, will be among the topics to be covered.

For more details and free trials, call 633-3777 or send inquiries to [email protected]