COL Financial earns record P379 M in 2017

COL Financial Group Inc. (COL), the country’s online stock and mutual fund platform, grew its net income by 15.3 percent to a new record of P379 million last year on the back of steady growth in clients.

“We are happy to end the year serving almost a quarter of a million investors. We will continue to find ways to empower Filipinos so they can take control of their financial future, by providing them the optimal investing experience and by guiding them all throughout their entire investment journey,” said COL Financial president and chief executive officer Dino Bate.

The company registered P970 million in revenues, up 16.4 percent as all areas of the business showed healthy growth last year.

Commission revenues saw a robust increase, helped by positive market conditions.

Bate said the company’s strong performance for the year would not have been possible if not for the continuous growth of its client base.

company ended 2017 with 249,000 accounts, 21 percent higher than the previous year.

COL was able to achieve this growth due to the steady stream of referrals from existing clients, as well as through the establishment of new investor centers outside Metro Manila, namely in Davao, Cebu and Ilocos, Bate said.

The brokerage firm’s average daily value turnover in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) also jumped to a new record of P1 billion, its 17.1 percent growth outperforming the PSE’s growth of 4.9 percent.

COL’s market share likewise increased to 6.3 percent from 5.6 percent in 2016, marking the company’s third consecutive year of achieving a record market share.

In terms of value turnover for local investors, COL’s market share rose to a new high of 13.1 percent compared to 11.9 percent by end-2016.

COL’s fund distribution business contributed P10.6 million in revenues last year, nearly twice the P5.7 million generated a year earlier.

Assets under administration reached P2.3 billion, up from P1.3 billion the previous year, as COL increased its efforts to raise awareness about the benefits and convenience of investing in mutual funds.