AAA Equities to launch online trading platform

AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. looks to attract more retail investors into the stock market with the launch of its online trading platform next month.

The local stock brokerage will be unveiling AAA Equities on March 1, where it will introduce standard online trading features with the additional option of being able to automatically execute trading strategies such as cutlosses and buying on breakouts.

“These are two fundamental strategies of any successful trader, and right now it’s very hard for anyone to do it because to do it you have to be physically at your computer at the exact moment that your stock hits the price when you’re cutting losses or buying the breakout,” AAA Equities President William Matthew M. Cabangon said in a press briefing in Makati on Monday.

Mr. Cabangon said that a trigger mechanism for such processes is currently unavailable at other brokerage firms, noting that this automated setup will allow investors to be prepared for the market’s movements.

The company’s online platform will also offer “off-hours orders,” where investors can set their strategies before the market opens. Orders will then be automatically sent to the exchange when the market opens.

AAA Equities is targeting retail investors for the online platform, since its traditional business currently caters to institutional investors.

“The target market really is online retail...(but not necessarily young investors) because the functionality is such a fundamental strategy for any investor that we think any investor online should be on this platform,” Mr. Cabangon explained.

The company highlighted the importance of encouraging more Filipinos to invest in the stock market, given its strong performance this year.

“We’re the second best performing stock market in the world in 2019, but if you ask the average person, they don’t really feel the effects. It’s in the best interest of Filipinos to be invested in the market, to take part in the growth that we’re experiencing,” Mr. Cabangon said.

AAA Equities projects the market to reach the 8,900 level by the end of the year, supported by easing local inflation, the US Federal Reserve’s decision to stop hiking interest rates, the easing of trade tensions between the US and China, as well as the consistent buying momentum of foreign investors in the local market.

“This year if everything goes well, I can see the PSEi going back to 8,900. This is a very reasonable target...So I think those three factors combined, along with the Philippines’ easing inflation will be a huge tailwind to our economy,” Mr. Cabangon said.

With the launch of its online trading platform, AAA Equities will join the roster of about 20 brokerage firms with an automated stock trading system. The company requires a minimum investment of P20,000 upon signing up. —