How many Filipinos trade stocks online?

Do you know how many Filipinos invest in stocks and how many of them trade online? Come on, take a guess.

Ten million Filipinos? One million?

Believe it or not, the answer is actually much lower.

Are you part of the elite 1%?

A survey conducted by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) among 14 local trading participants shows that only less than one percent (1%) of the Philippine population invest in stocks.

The total number of trading accounts (both online and live broker-facilitated) reached 585,562 in 2013, representing a mere 0.6% of the country’s population.

Are you part of this very small group of people?

It is indeed an insignificant chunk of the population but the good news is that this number is growing, recording an 11.4% increase from the number in 2012.

Online stock trading activity

In terms of online trading, 129,255 accounts or 22% of total stock trading accounts are online-based.  If we are to assign a one-to-one relationship between a trading account and a stock trader, we can surmise that only 129,255 Filipinos trade stocks online.

Very few, indeed, but this number is already a huge 65.25% spike from 2012.

In terms of the number of online stock trades made in 2013, meanwhile, 29.3% of total trades were done through an online stock broker. This was an increase compared to the 28.2% share in 2012.

Overall, retail investors (i.e., individual investors) still form the majority of stock traders in the Philippines. These retail investors account for 96.2% of total account, while only 3.8% were institutional or corporate accounts.

Here’s a table summarizing some basic data about stock trading in the Philippines.

Number of stock traders and online trading activity in the Philippines

20092010201120122013
Total number of online trading accounts28,26135,55952,75078,216129,255
Annual growth rate of online trading accounts25.80%48.40%48.30%65.25%
Total number of stock trading accounts (online and live brokers)525,850585,562
% of online trading accounts versus total14.87%22.07%
% of live broker accounts versus total85.13%77.93%
Online trades as a % of total stock trades28.20%29.30%
Broker-facilitated trades as a % of total trades71.80%70.70%

Happy trading!

See also: INFOGRAPHIC: Profile of the Filipino Stock Market Investor

Source: Philippine Stock Exchange

To learn more about stock trading, read these awesome, useful posts!

About the Author

PSEi support seen at 6,200 and 6,000 amid weaker Peso

In a not-so-surprising move, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) yesterday raised interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) or 0.75% in a bid to tame rising inflation in the United States. This was the third consecutive 0.75% rate hike by the Fed, which brings the federal funds rate, the central bank’s benchmark interest rate, to ... Read more

Official SWIFT Code of BDO, BPI, Metrobank, Philippine banks

When sending cash remittances or wire transfer to a bank account in the Philippines (such as BDO, BPI, Metrobank, Landbank, DBP, etc.), you’ll surely need the SWIFT Code of the bank. Look no further because you can find all the SWIFT Codes you need in this list! Make sure you’re using the right bank code ... Read more
blank

How to Waive your Credit Card Annual Fee (BDO, BPI, Metrobank, RCBC, Citibank, UnionBank)

Without a doubt, one of the most annoying fees that credit cardholders have to pay is the annual fee. Majority of cardholders are familiar with this fee and majority of us likely pay this grudgingly year after year after year. In the case of my credit card with BPI (Bank of the Philippine Islands), I’m ... Read more
blank

Why Filipinos do not become business owners or entrepreneurs

For a majority of Filipinos, entrepreneurship does not seem to be a typical, expected path. This is not surprising, considering that in school, students are primarily taught to become employees after graduation. Students train for years to become staff workers, reporting to a supervisor, and just waiting to receive their wages or salaries every month. ... Read more
blank

My experience investing in Mutual Funds in the Philippines

I started investing in mutual funds when I was 22 years old. As an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) then, I was fortunate to be able to save some money at that young age because of my work abroad. One time while I was on vacation in the Philippines, I saw a large billboard in EDSA ... Read more
blank

Income Tax Tables in the Philippines (2022)

The Philippines’ new tax reform bill, known as TRAIN or Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion, was signed into law on December 19, 2017 and its implementation began on January 1, 2018. What are the new income tax rates under the TRAIN law? How will TRAIN affect income taxes of individuals and corporations? How is the ... Read more
blank

PSE Stocks Performance under each Philippine President (1987-2021)

Did you know that Philippine stocks were able to achieve an astounding growth of 800% in a span of 30 years? From 1987 until 2018, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose from 1,000 points to a peak of 9,000 points — generating a return of 800% over 30 years. (The PSEi is an index ... Read more
blank

SSL 2022: Salary Increases for Teachers, Nurses, Gov’t Employees

Good news to all government employees! There’s a new round of salary increases beginning January 1, 2022! Millions of employees of the Philippine government — including public school teachers, nurses and staff of government hospitals, and workers in local and national government agencies, etc. — will be getting an automatic salary adjustment this 2022 under ... Read more
blank

PSE Trading Hours in 2022: What time open, when closed?

Before you take the plunge into stock trading and investing, make sure you understand what stocks are and how the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) operates. Unlike other investments that are relatively safe, stock trading is risky and loss of money is a possibility. So before you deep dive into the exciting world of stock trading, ... Read more

Price Floor and Price Ceiling of PSE Stocks

Trading bands in the PSE come in two forms: Price Ceiling, or the upper price limit, and Price Floor, or the lower price limit.

1 thought on “How many Filipinos trade stocks online?”

Leave a Comment