KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): Malaysian investors account for over 11% of Asia Pacific (APAC) registered users on multi-asset investment platform eToro (ex-Australia) as of May 15.

According to eToro’s website, the company is registered with offices in Limassol (Cyprus) and London (UK).

It also has offices in Tel Aviv, New Jersey, Sydney and Shanghai.

In an email response to theedgemarkets.com in conjunction with its commission-free stocks offering to clients in APAC starting today, eToro head of Southeast Asian business Paul Familiaran (pictured) said eToro has over 13 million users globally and APAC is one of its fastest growing regions.

“In 1Q2020, eToro hit US$300 billion in trading volume globally, and APAC investors currently account for about 20-25% of trading volume (roughly US$75 billion).

“We want to increase this to 25-30% in the next few years,” he said.

Meanwhile in Malaysia, Familiaran said the number of people investing for the first time on eToro grew over 200% in the first four months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

Familiaran said while the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact financial markets, there was a consistent investment behaviour/pattern amongst Malaysian retail investors who are drawn to investing in technology-related stocks, such as Tesla, Facebook and Amazon.

“In fact, Tesla was the most popular stock traded on eToro by Malaysian investors in April.

“Coronavirus induced market volatility has been a focus for media both in Malaysia and globally and has brought the topic of investing increasingly onto people's radars,” he said, pointing out there was a large increase in trading volumes on eToro since the start of 2020 from both new and existing users.

Commenting on eToro’s commission-free offering, Familiaran said eToro does not charge ongoing administration or quarterly charges.

However, he said other costs could include:

On Malaysians’ preferred investment choices, Familiaran said based on eToro data, Malaysians are more inclined to invest in the US stock market.

“In fact, companies listed on the Nasdaq and NYSE exchanges represent over 80% of all stocks traded on eToro globally.

“One possibility why the US stocks are popular choices among Malaysian retail investors is that some believe that the US offers the best long-term prospects,” he said.

To a question on whether Malaysians preferred investing in equities or bitcoin, Familiaran said stocks are considered a traditional investment for a reason — it is one of the more common types of investment in the financial market place, alongside fixed income investments and property, and thus they attract great interest among Malaysians.

“While past performance is never a guarantee, research shows that stocks offer one of the best potential for good returns over the long term, and shares can be a relatively inexpensive and easily understandable asset class to trade, especially for new Malaysian investors,” he said.

However, he said cryptoassets, such as bitcoin, have been growing in popularity in recent years among retail investors, especially millennial investors.

“Many crypto investors are attracted by the prospect of large returns in the future.

“However, cryptoassets can be extremely volatile, and it is not uncommon to see double-digit percentage fluctuations in a single day. Hence, bitcoin is suitable for investors who are not risk-averse and believe in the long-term value of crypto,” he said.

On security of transactions, Familiaran said eToro takes security very seriously.

“As a regulated financial institution, eToro is committed to protecting users’ personal data.

“We protect users’ personal information by using data security technology and using tools such as firewalls and data encryption,” he said.