Investagrams to set up stock brokerage platform
Local financial technology start-up Investagrams has announced its plan to go into the stock brokerage business and set up an online trading platform to encourage more Filipinos to participate in the domestic equities market.
During a gathering with stock market investors and Investagrams users on Saturday, JC Bisnar, chief executive officer and co-founder of Investagrams, said the company plans to launch an online stock trading platform called InvestaTrade.
“We are officially announcing our plan to launch InvestaTrade. We have thought that we’re already providing the education, the charts and the community. But it’s lacking. After that, you guys trade in a platform that is lagging or does not allow you to log in,” Bisnar told the investors.
“And that’s the thing we want to provide for you guys, we want to operate InvestaTrade, and make it the stock brokerage platform that the Filipino people truly deserves,” he added.
However, Bisnar said Investagrams still needs to undergo the application process with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before it could launch its online stock brokerage system.
He said the company still has to raise the P100 million minimum paid up capital requirement for new brokerage houses.
To help reach this amount, Investagrams has initiated a crowdfunding activity, with corresponding benefits, including free Investagrams services and use of tools and applications, depending on the amount donated.
Should it be able to raise this money and get approval from the SEC, Bisnar said the platform could be up as early as the first quarter of 2019.
An alternative option, Bisnar said, is for Investagrams to partner with an existing stock broker.
“The second option is if we partner with an existing brokerage. There are brokers which don’t have brokerage as their core business. That is faster. We’re assessing both ways,” he said.
According to Bisnar, InvestaTrade is envisioned to become an accessible trading platform that will enable more Filipinos to invest in the stock market. Currently, he said less than one percent of the population is participating in the local bourse.