The number of Filipinos with online stock market accounts rose 8 percent in 2022 to 1.25 million accounts, data from the Philippine Stock Exchange show.
The PSE also said the value of each transaction rose by 33 percent to P46,236.40 from P34,701.80 in 2021.
But while close to 100,000 online accounts were added last year, non-online transactions fell by 7,156 accounts to only 453,827. As a result, stock market accountholders in 2022 total 1.71 million, up 5 percent from 1.62 million accounts.
“The growth in accounts may have been subdued in 2022 but I expect an uptick in numbers again with the foray of new stock brokerage firms in the online trading space and the upcoming rollout of stock investing features in finance apps,” PSE president and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said.
The total number of stock market accounts was also affected by the clean-up of dormant accounts done by trading participants in accordance with Republic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Monzon added.
The accounts were owned mostly by local retail investors holding a little over 98 percent of all stock market accounts. Institutional investors and foreign investors owned 1.9 percent and 1.7 percent of the total stock market accounts, respectively.
The PSE noted a surge in accounts owned by retail investors in the 30 to 44 age range.
About half of the retail accounts were held by investors in the 30 to 44 age group, from a 34 percent share in 2021. The 45 to 59-year-old investors comprised 20 percent of accounts, followed by the 18 to 29-year-olds at 18 percent and investors aged 60 and above at 10 percent.
The ownership of online accounts by age mirrored the total retail accounts, with the 30 to 44 age group taking up the largest share of 55.7 percent of online accounts, the PSE said.
Investors with annual income of less than P500,000.00 made up 53 percent of retail accounts and 73 percent of online retail accounts. Those who earn an annual income of P500,000 to P1 million had a 25 percent and 13 percent share in retail accounts and online retail accounts, respectively.
Metro Manila residents continue to have the biggest number of retail investors at 81 percent, trailed by Luzon with 10 percent, the Visayas at 3 percent and Mindanao at 2.5 percent. Investors based overseas accounted for 1.7 percent of retail investors. Foreign nationals with investments in the local market were mostly Chinese, American, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese, the PSE said.
