Rakuten Trade, a fully digital equities broker reported a surged in user base during the Movement Control Order (MCO) Period. The equities broker said in a media statement that they saw over 11,000 new accounts activated in March, a 100% month-on-month growth — with more that 64% of them done during the first phase of the MCO.

Mr Kaoru Arai, Managing Director, Rakuten Trade, said,

“We attribute the high volume of appeal to many now working from home and other brokers still requiring some form of face-to-face contact. In view of this, we see many investors opting for a ‘zero contact’ equities trading platform like Rakuten Trade. The easy to use, non-face-to-face trading platform, and seamless account activation process that comes with using a digital platform like ours have become key benefits to enabling investors to trade in equities. Seamless, real-time trading coupled with affordability and greater control are an attractive package.”

In tandem with the surge in account activations, Rakuten Trade also recorded a 20% increase in trading value in March 2020, month-on-month.

“Increased market participation bodes well for the equities market as it will contribute towards market liquidity and resilience. Investors see the current equities market climate as an opportunity to “bottom fish” in fundamentally strong small to mid-cap stocks that have dropped in price but will eventually rise again. They are in for the long run and understand the importance of holding these investments in the current climate,”

said Mr Arai.

Expanding its digital services to cater to more experienced traders, Rakuten Trade recently launched its third product – RakuMargin. RakuMargin offers an automated facility limit approval of up to RM100,000 and carries the same low brokerage fees as its Cash Upfront and Contra Accounts.

More recently, Rakuten Trade launched HIVE, an effort to generate investment and trading ideas for clients from Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (KIBB) and Rakuten Trade’s Research and algorithm teams. Using Telegram, HIVE provides avid investors with consensus trading signals, stock picks, counter performance and where applicable “Take Profit” suggestions.

As at 31 March 2020, it generated close to RM11 billion in trading value on Bursa Malaysia and activated almost 70,000 trading accounts in less than three years.