One particularly impressive figure stands out from the company’s many updates. Tiger Brokers reported 1.65 million customer accounts worldwide as of June 30, twice the number in the same period last year. How has it fuelled such explosive growth? For Tiger Brokers (Singapore), Eng points to the Xiaomi-backed brokerage’s unique selling points: Its fast account opening process, no minimum deposits, user-friendly system and the power to access multiple markets from a single platform.
Tiger Brokers (Singapore) currently offers trading on six of the world’s leading stock exchanges, namely the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, Shanghai/Shenzhen Hong Kong Stock Connect, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Australian Securities Exchange.
Now, Eng has his sights set on the rich potential of Asean markets. “I believe, with the advantage of Singapore as a regional financial hub, we should look at the demand and the needs of our investors for regional countries.”
See: Tiger Brokers sees surge in Gen Z new account openings in 2QFY21
The spike in users also carries a generational slant. In September, Tiger Brokers (Singapore) reported 90% y-o-y growth in new accounts made by Generation Z, or those born from 1997. Generation Z now makes up 30% of Tiger Brokers (Singapore)’s customers.
In addition, Generation Z investors in Singapore increased their purchase of stocks, futures and options nine-fold during 2QFY2021 ended June, compared to the same period a year ago. As younger investors move beyond just securities, Eng reminds them to be cautious when trading, and that a little investor education can go a long way. “Know your risk. Understand the concept and calculations behind margins and leverage, and the risk of selling options,” says Eng, who has clocked 15 years in the financial sector. “Generation Z, or the internet generation, can be regarded as one of the most disruptive generations ever. There is a distinct difference in how they invest and what they invest in compared to the millennials or baby boomers,” says Eng. “With better access to data and information to supplement their financial knowledge, on top of increased awareness around world issues, it is clear that the narrative for investing will no longer be how it used to be,” he adds. Eng says this perhaps wistfully. Prior to leading Tiger Brokers (Singapore), Eng spent 12 years at Phillip Futures where, among other things, he helped oversee the Greater China market. To meet the needs of a growing user base, Tiger Brokers (Singapore) has been hard at work upgrading its infrastructure. In June, Tiger Brokers (Singapore) entered into a partnership with Alibaba Cloud, the digital intelligence and technology arm of Alibaba Group. With Alibaba Cloud providing endto-end technology support to the Tiger Brokers (Singapore)’s Tiger Trade platform, users enjoy fast and uninterrupted trading, says the brokerage. “Their strong domain knowledge also helps us understand better how cloud computing can help further our business plans by providing us with end-to-end solutions, including value-added security services, ensuring the safety of our data in the system,” says Eng. More recently, Tiger Brokers (Singapore) partnered with Onfido — a global identity verification and authentication company — to provide Tiger Brokers’ customers with a smoother onboarding process.
See also: Tiger Brokers partners Onfido for faster customer onboarding process using AI
Through Onfido, Tiger Brokers’ users can verify their identity by taking a photo of their passport or Singapore national registration identity cards (NRICs) and a short video of themselves. “We have constantly made sure we update our platform… and our partnership with Onfido will allow us to onboard new users within a few hours instead of the average of two to three business days,” says Eng. With a smoother trading experience, Tiger Brokers (Singapore) is also looking to expand its suite of trading options. Tiger Brokers (Singapore) launched Fund Mall at the start of the year, a marketplace of global mutual funds offering access to more than 100 money funds, bond funds and equity funds.
This shows that Tiger Brokers (Singapore) is being recognised as a noteworthy participant in the capital markets, says Eng. “With the SGX membership, we will dedicate more resources into the Singapore market, both to contribute to the local market and to service our regional clients.”
With Bitcoin reaching its all-time high in October, is cryptocurrency trading on the cards for Tiger Brokers (Singapore)? “Cryptocurrency is a very attractive and interesting new asset class. We are definitely in the process of studying and researching how Tiger can legally offer these products, with the approval and blessing of MAS (the Monetary Authority of Singapore),” says Eng.
As an exhibitor at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2021, Tiger Brokers (Singapore) hopes to meet others in the space for an exchange of ideas. “It is a good platform for creative and innovative FinTech companies, like Tiger Brokers, to meet and explore more new ideas and technology.”
For now, Eng hopes a sleek and useful Tiger Trade platform will prove invaluable to users even after the boom cycle ends. “When the pandemic is controlled, some activities will resume and we should expect the market to have some correction and slow down. Investors will look for various investment opportunities again around the world.”
Offering competitive fees is just a “starting point”, says Eng. “To show our determination and sincerity, our ambition is to provide good, affordable and value-for-money financial services for our regional supporters.”
He adds: “We’re working on an even better platform, even more comprehensive investment assets and tools, and even more engagement and localised service for our regional investors, who have always supported Tiger.”
Download the Tiger Trade APP now with this link.
Photos: Albert Chua / The Edge Singapore
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