Brokers must adopt greater digitalisation to attract younger investors — Lim

KUALA LUMPUR: Stockbrokers must adopt greater digitalisation to appeal to the younger generation of investors and raise public participation in the stock market, says Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He said in today’s world where almost everything was located online, it was no longer enough to be just a traditional broker; they must have online presence to cater to the native mobile generation.

"Investors are demanding better service at a cheaper price, which is challenging to those who refuse to change with time.

"Apart from greater digitalisation, brokers will need to diversify their products to attract new sets of investors," he said in his speech at the Bursa Excellence Awards 2018. Lim's speech was delivered by Treasury deputy secretarygeneral (investment) Datuk Asri Hamidon.

He said in this regard, the recently-revised Guidelines on Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) would allow a much wider range of products to be developed for people of varying risk appetites.

"ETFs are an attractive asset class providing investors with affordable diversification options in the capital market.

"It is a good entry product for new investors that is capable of not only encouraging greater public participation in the market, but also ensure that the wealth of the nation gets shared in a more equitable manner to a wider pool of people," he said.

Lim said despite challenging sentiment in the second half of 2018, Malaysia recorded its highest average daily volume of RM2.4 billion whereby the twoyear compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.4 per cent was the second highest within ASEAN. — Bernama