KUALA LUMPUR (April 26): With financial technology and wealth tech gaining popularity among investment seekers in recent years, digital investing boundaries are pushed amid Covid-19-related movement restrictions and accelerated adoption of contactless digital technologies.

According to a survey by Rakuten Insight Malaysia in December 2020, millennials aged between 26 and 40 comprised 68% of those who used online investment platforms last year.

The firm said the survey found that among digital retail investors who chose to trade in equities, the highest volume of trading activity was reported by the 26- to 30-year-olds.

In a statement last Friday, Rakuten Insight, a purely digital market research hub servicing clients across Southeast Asia, said it conducted the pilot nationwide online survey among digital investors, with an emphasis on those in urban centres, namely Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor.

Rakuten Insight country director Collin Leow said the pandemic economy saw investing and saving habits changing out of necessity and due to accessibility of technology.

“While the survey set out to discover more about the rise of younger digital investors in the new norm, a surprising find was that digital investing was not primarily the domain of millennials, with 32% comprising those in their 40s and 50s.

“We also saw that investment opportunities, which could provide long-term growth (45%) and short-term returns (18%), gain more popularity among investors last year,” he said.

Leow said from the results, it can be assumed that millennials viewed investing, and not just saving, as a way to build financial stability during a challenging period.

In addition, preference for equities investment saw an increase of 47%, while unit trust and mutual funds rose by 29.28%.

Meanwhile, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) Kazumasa Mise said it was undeniable that the pandemic saw the rise of digital retail investors across markets worldwide, including here in Malaysia.

“The findings of the survey reflected the traction we witnessed on Rakuten Trade’s fully digital platform in 2020, with significant trading activity seen among those aged between 26 and 30.

“These new traders previously never traded in equities before last year, and this investing trend continued in 2021 despite the easing of movement restrictions.” 

Rakuten Insight also reported an upward trend in online trading activity among existing traders, with 44% more digital retail investors increasing their trading activity during movement restriction periods.

It said almost 34% of digital retail investors said they will continue to invest using their current online trading platform, while almost 29% will increase their investment in the near future.

The firm said technology-savvy millennials, among the hardest hit by the pandemic, made up the biggest group of digital retail investors who chose to invest online to improve their financial security.