25% of Stock Exchange transactions carried out through online platforms

Transactions carried out on the Stock Exchange through online platforms made available by brokerages topped 120m euros in the first quarter, out of a total turnover of around 500m euros on the entire market. Romanian investors are ever more tempted to take investments in their own hands and carry out transactions on the Stock Exchange on their own through online trading platforms. In their turn, brokerages are trying to take advantage of this trend, rushing to launch new products targeting online clients. The outcome is that in the first quarter, for instance, transactions conducted through online platforms accounted for around one quarter of transactions handled by brokerages, according to a survey carried out by ZF among the largest retail brokerages domestically. Taking into account an average 0.5% fee, online transactions generate revenues of 200,000 euros for brokerages every month. Brokerages, however, are betting on solid growth on this market segment, as most new clients prefer conducting their transactions on their own. According to data provided by brokerages, over 10,000 investors currently have online accounts, out of a total of 90,000 active investors registered with the Central Depository.