Online stock trading portal targets yuppies

CEBU, Philippines - UniCapital Securities Inc. targets young professionals as it launched its online stock trading portal, UTrade, in Cebu capitalizing on the growing interest of the mainstream market on investing into equity securities.

Utrade by UniCapital, has made stock market investment easier, affordable with as low as P10,000 capital outlay. This way, one can already participate in the dynamic and high yielding stock market investment in the Philippines.

“Cebu has great potential for stock market trading,” said Unicapital Securities Inc., president and chief executive officer Leonardo R. Arguelles Jr.

He said the company’s online investment portal, operated by UTrade will maximize the power of the Internet, social media like Twitter, and Facebook, among others to make stock market investment easier and within reach of the mainstream market.

Making Cebu as its home-base, UTrade is located at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) office at the Insular Building at the Cebu Business Park.

A UTrade account allows member-registrant to buy and sell stocks through an internet-based platform. It also gives direct market access and live stock information from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

The company also provides clients with advice on prevailing market condition; manage client portfolios by tailor-fitting each client’s investment return objectives with their tolerance and time horizon.

With majority of Filipinos now technology savvy, specifically the younger generation, or the young professionals, entering into the stock market is no longer as difficult as before, he said.

“We make every effort to offer confidence, ease and satisfaction in making the right investment decisions by providing personalized customer relationships, in addition to the delivery of timely, accurate research products, market information, and investment advice,” said Arguelles.

“We believe in the value of educating Filipinos about investing in the market via our stock market briefings and program. As a company, our goal is to make investing in the stock market easy, convenient, and accessible to every Filipino,” he added.

A stock exchange is an organized marketplace that brings buyers and sellers together and facilities that sale and purchase of stocks. In the Philippines, the only exchange operating is the PSE.

Arguelles expressed confidence that with the highly informed and investment-hungry Cebuanos, online stock brokerage will be able to provide a potent gateway for Cebuanos to be active in equity market investments.

PSE record shows that there are at least 10 to 15 trading participants or a small minority of 133 active brokerage houses that have developed their proprietary online trading platform, such as COL Financial, First Metro Securities,  2TradeAsia.Com,  AB Capital Securities and BPI Securities, UniCapital, among others.

UTrade is equipped with features that give investors a better feel of the market. UTraders can mark and track events and reminders through the UTrade calendar and are provided fresh and relevant information on a daily basis through various social media channels and subscriptions. Part of the personalized service is a live chat function that allows UTraders to easily communicate with their financial advisors during market sessions.

The company primarily hits to lure the young professionals aged 21 to 40 years old who are “tech-savvy” to enroll in UTrade.

“The market now is heavily depended on information, and these kind of investors want real-time information right away,” he said.

Among the high-yielding sectors in the stock market include banking, infrastructure, consumer goods and property. (FREEMAN)