Retail investors send stock brokerages’ incomes soaring

VPS Securities climbed to top place for the first time with revenues of VND9.52 trillion (US$420 million), up 270 percent from 2020.

Its pre-tax profits doubled to VND995 billion.

It was followed by SSI Securities Corporation whose revenues grew by 70 percent to VND7.29 trillion, and pre-tax profits by 113 percent to VND3.33 trillion.

VNDirect and Techcombank Securities were in third and fourth places.

Kang Moon Kyung, CEO of Mirae Asset Vietnam, said the results were expected thanks to the 1.5 million new retail investors who climbed on the bandwagon last year.

The number of new accounts exceeded the total of the previous four years, and the ratio of the population investing in stocks has risen to 4.4 percent.

The benchmark VN-Index repeatedly climbed to new peaks and closed the year 35.7 percent in the green, the seventh biggest gain globally.

"The positive sentiments of the new investors as the pandemic was contained helped push brokerages’ profits up," Kang told VnExpress.

The low bank deposit interest rates and the government’s stimulus package also boosted investment in stocks, he added.

Nguyen Quang Huy, a board member at Asia Pacific Securities, said the market could cool down this year bringing challenges to brokerages.

Economic recovery would make investors diversify into other asset classes, he pointed out.

"Brokerages will have a much more difficult year this year".