Traditional brokers say lower trading fees 'not end game' as competition heats up

SINGAPORE: Incumbents in the brokerage industry are looking to spruce up their digital offerings and speed up other processes such as account opening, as a flurry of online trading platforms fires up competition.

“If you are not too demanding, one can be quite happy with them … But to attract the younger crowd, you will need more features,” the NUS professor said. Phillip Securities, for one, has refined its account opening process to allow online sign-ups via SingPass and fund deposits through PayNow since the start of the pandemic. These have shortened the time needed to onboard a customer from days to mere 15 minutes.

The feedback gathered from focus groups and weekly product demonstrations has given it ideas for “a pipeline of new product features” that will be rolled out subsequently this year and beyond, such as systematic trading to US stock options and ESG thematic investing. That said, the brokerage, which was founded in Singapore in 1972, noted that while it will continue to play to its strengths, it cannot ignore changing demographics and demands of new investors.

Another existing player, FSMOne.com, reduced its flat commission fee for Singapore-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds from S$10 to S$8.80 in April last year. FSMOne.com is the digital trading platform of iFast Corporation, which rolled out its stock-broking services here about six years ago. Ms Lee from Ernst & Young echoed that while lower fees “will, at face value, be attractive to consumers”, it is important to avoid a race to the bottom.

It also noted that it does not offer options trading and cryptocurrency trading as “complex or gambling products offer no long-term value to investors”, especially newbies.

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