AmInvestment Bank to tap millenial participation in retail stock market
KUALA LUMPUR: AmInvestment Bank Bhd aims to strengthen its retail investor base by tapping into millennial participation in the market.
According to AmInvestment Bank Bhd chief executive officer Seohan Soo, the group has always been focused on being the number one institutional stock broker house and intends to venture further into the retail investment market.
“We want to strengthen our (AmEquities) retail base and our target is ideally 50-50 (for retail and institutional investment).”
In line with the aim to boost millennial participation in the retail stock market, AmBank Group has launched a redesigned website and mobile app called AmEquities geared towards millennial retail investors.
Previously known as AmESecurities, the revamped platform features functions such as “push notifications” based on its customer’s portfolio and watch list.
“The redesigned AmEquities platform is aimed towards millennials to start investing in the stock market. The platform consists of a revamped website, which is fully mobile responsive with multiple devices, and will be available on the Apple IOS and Android platform.”
AmBank Group CEO Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said at a press conference: “This product (AmEquities) has been in development for about a year. We knew we wanted to design something with mobile in mind. In a few month’s time it will be fully fledged.”
Targeting the millennials would mean creating a seamless investing experience.
“As of now, close to 20% of our customer base consists of millenni- als. Our previous website had a more traditional feel, and we’ve redesigned it to appeal to a more contemporary mass,” AmInvestment Bank head of retail dealing Leo Ong Chin Liang said.
“Our main objective is to further grow this customer segment and based on observations, more millennials are slowly starting to enter the investing market. This is one way we can cater to that growing demand.”
Sulaiman added that the group turned to digitalisation to help the younger generation be more comprehensive and gain understanding of an ever volatile market.
“The good thing about digital is that it’s never too late, and we can achieve that through the convenience of push notifications for any announcements that Bursa Malaysia may make, delivered straight onto the AmEquities platform.”
AmEquities will also feature an interactive live chat which provides real time response from the support team.
As for incentives to attract more investors, Ong mentioned that AmInvestment held online seminars (dubbed ‘webinars’) and has sessions where it would inform potential investors and provide current market analysis for free.
“The amount of effort millennial investors are putting in (to understanding the market) shows intention for them to be savvy investors. If we can tap this market, we would be able to build a strong customer base.”
He added that there will be more upcoming campaigns awaiting announcement on the company’s website.
The website and app utilises different languages such as English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese for further accessibility.