The chief executive officer of Bursa Malaysia, Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift has commented that Malaysia is seeing an increasing number of new women investors who are participating in the stock market.

Datuk Muhamad Umar said that according to data from the local bourse, 36% of new Central Depository System (CDS) accounts that have been opened year-to-date belonged to women investors. Additionally, 32% of the CDS accounts in 2020 were held by women, which subsequently rose to 34% in 2021. To clarify, all new investors must open a CDS account if they wish to trade on Bursa Malaysia; it is where you conduct your trading and keep track of all your stock holdings.

Moreover, Datuk Muhamad Umar said that 30% of the total trade value in 2021 was made by women investors, and that women’s total trade volume had surged by 194.1% between 2018 and 2021. He further remarked that various studies have recognised women’s competence in investing as compared to men, with portfolios managed by them often outperforming those overseen by their male counterparts.

“In 2021, a study by Fidelity Investments showed women investors achieved positive returns and surpassed men by 0.4% on average in terms of annual performance between January and December,” stated Datuk Muhamad Umar. Despite this, there is still much to be done to encourage the participation of women investors.  

As such, Bursa Malaysia has launched a few campaigns in conjunction with its celebration of the International Women’s Day. This includes the #EqualityForEquity campaign, where Bursa Malaysia and participating brokers will waive the RM10 opening fee for the first 4,000 women who open their CDS account via the Bursa Anywhere app.

On top of that, there is also the #MyFirstTrade campaign, where women investors are invited to contribute stories of their first trade in the stock market. Twenty of the most inspiring stories will be selected to win a Touch ‘n Go (TNG) eWallet reload PIN worth RM100. Both campaigns will run until 31 March 2022.

(Sources: Bursa Malaysia, The Edge Markets)

• TAGS:
• Bursa Anywhere
• Bursa Malaysia
• Central Depository System (CDS)
• Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift
• International Women's Day
• Stock Trading
• Stock Trading Account Opening
• Women Investors