By Alexandria Grace C. Magno
LOCAL brokerage Unicapital Securities, Inc. is looking for wider participation within the Philippine stock market by strengthening engagement with retail investors and difficult the long-held perception that investing is proscribed to wealthy individuals or institutional players.
“Even outside of Metro Manila, we’re doing roadshows, investor education to actually educate the traditional retail investor. Before, there was a perception that the stock market is simply for individuals with money, it’s just for the wealthy but really now, it’s anyone can invest,” Unicapital Securities, Inc. President Maria Concepcion Y. Fernandez said in an interview with BusinessWorld.
Founded in 1997, the brokerage firm has evolved from primarily servicing institutional clients to developing online trading platforms and conducting investor teaching programs nationwide to succeed in a broader public.
The firm said it goes beyond transaction-driven brokering by providing client-specific guidance on risk and investment opportunities.
“For Unicapital, it’s a really personalized service — that’s what we give to our clients. Since we’re very small, we take a take a look at what our clients really want. We study their funds first and we allow them to know, especially if it’s for something they need to expand or what,” Marie Angela M. Hing, first vice-president for treasury and stuck income, said in the identical interview.
“We take a more in-depth take a look at whatever they need from us, and we allow them to know. We give them what strategies from our side we expect is best for them. I suppose that’s where we’re different from the opposite investment firms.”
Ms. Hing, who joined Unicapital several years ago, said she is driven by addressing structural gaps within the Philippine investment landscape.
Ms. Fernandez, who has nearly three many years of experience in investment banking and stock brokerage, said the market’s evolution has further strengthened her advocacy.
“Our advocacy really is to coach the Filipinos, encouraging them to take a position. So, that’s really what drives us. Since the Philippine stock market is one in all the oldest stock markets, and yet we’re lagging behind our ASEAN neighbors,” she said.
Despite its long history, participation within the domestic capital market stays low relative to regional peers, presenting each a challenge and a possibility to expand the retail investor base beyond a narrow segment of the population.
“[Most] Filipinos, the investing part shouldn’t be as vital to them, right? We would like to coach, especially since now we have a young population — everyone’s talking in regards to the demographic dividend. So, that’s the potential of the nation, right? Now we have to take a position in these young people — they only waste their money on spending — and now we have to show them how you can save and invest.”
Unicapital, a licensed full-service investment house, offers a spread of economic and investment banking services and positions itself as a mid-sized platform that supports emerging and mid-sized enterprises slightly than competing directly with large universal banks.
“We saw that retail investors were a really small a part of the market and there was not much participation. We pivoted and developed our own online platform. We targeting the retail market, which served us well. We saw the chance there. It’s where we’re concentrated now,” Ms. Fernandez said.
The corporate considers broadening retail participation crucial to the expansion of the capital market and the broader economy. Ms. Fernandez added that many potential investors are discouraged by perceptions that investing is overly complex or akin to gambling, prompting the firm to adopt a gradual, advisory approach.
“We don’t treat them as clients — it’s like a partnership because what we give, in addition they give us. It’s a give and take relationship. We tell them what they need and in return, after all, they principally invest with us… Whether or not it’s stocks or bonds or they need an easy loan, they’ll do every little thing with us within the group,” Ms. Hing said.
“If we are able to increase the variety of participants out there, I believe we’d have done our job,” Ms. Fernandez added.
Despite differences of their years of experience, the 2 executives share a commitment to redefining the finance occupation by breaking traditional gender barriers and reinforcing the importance of continuous learning in a rapidly evolving industry.
“We’re fortunate since you’re being paid to learn all these different industries. For us, it’s exciting. You’ve got to have that growth mindset to be open. You think that you already know every little thing, no, you don’t. You mostly have something recent to learn,” Ms. Fernandez said.
“I believe one piece of recommendation can be never stop learning. The finance industry could be very fast-moving. Something recent happens each day. It’s a difficult industry, but it surely’s fun because on daily basis, there’s something recent… adaptability is vital,” Ms. Hing said.