By Chee Jo-Ey
MALAYSIAN investors are more optimistic about the future of the global financial market compared to their neighbours, a survey led by social trading platform eToro showed.
The study titled “Financial trading trends in Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan” surveyed retail investors aged between 18 and 55.
Findings reveal that 32% of Malaysians believe that the global financial market will grow compared to 20% in Singapore and 12% in Taiwan.
According to eToro, Malaysians’ optimism may largely be attributed to the positive economic growth in the region – an average of 4.6% growth in the first three quarters of 2019.
The study also found that over 31% of Malaysian investors look to new asset classes for opportunities to increase their income.
When asked to name their favourite assets to invest in, 62% of Malaysians chose stocks while 23% prefer forex and 21% invest in cryptoassets.
Locals are more conservative, however, when it comes to the trading channels.
They are more comfortable going through traditional channels with 48% of them preferring to trade via banks while 47% choose online platforms and 30% prefer stockbrokers.
However, 73% of Singaporean and 50% of Taiwanese investors prefer online trading as compared to traditional banking.
According to eToro head of Southeast Asia Paul Familiaran, although banks are still popular, there is a growing demand for online trading platforms that allow users to conveniently explore multiple asset classes on a single platform.
Familiaran observed that retail investors tend to refer to family and friends as main sources of financial advice while only a handful use financial advisers.
“Social trading is disrupting traditional financial services. Social trading makes trading and investing more accessible, more transparent and more fun. eToro was created as a place where people can share ideas.
“Today, we are a global community of over 12 million registered users who are open to sharing their investment strategies and anyone can follow the approaches of successful investors on our platforms. We offer convenience whereby users can easily buy, hold and sell assets, monitor their portfolio in real time, and transact whenever they want,” Familiaran said.
“It is positive to see Malaysians diversifying their investment portfolios to include new asset classes like crypto. Diversification is key. Our platform enables people to invest in the assets they want, from stocks, commodities and currencies to exchange-traded funds and cryptoassets – all in one place,” he added.
