XTB (WSE: XTB), one of Poland's largest brokerage houses, has announced a strategic partnership with the local self-regulatory Association of Individual Investors (SII). This new collaboration is aimed at improving the standards of the Polish financial market, including the establishment of a 'Spokesperson for Individual Investors Rights'.

XTB Shows a Boom in Individual Investors' Numbers

Recent years have seen a dynamic rise in the number of individual investors in Poland, as evidenced by the ever-growing number of brokerage accounts. XTB and SII believe that to maintain this trend. There is a need to modernize and raise the standards of stock market investors' work.

"At XTB, we have been investing in free, universally accessible education for investors and increasing market accessibility,” Paweł Szejko, a Board Member of XTB, commented. “We often cooperate with the Association of Individual Investors in this area. From our joint observations, it turns out that Polish investors also need support in defending their rights.”

This led to the initiative of instituting a Spokesperson for Individual Investors' Rights. This role aims to emulate similar institutions by safeguarding the rights and obligations of individual investors while striving for higher standards within the industry.

In the first quarter of 2023, XTB reported a significant influx of new clients, adding 104,200 to their customer base. This growth boosted their total clientele to a remarkable 703,900, reflecting an increase year-over-year (YoY) of 46.1% and growth quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) of over 100%.

One thing impressive to highlight is the surge in active clients, which climbed 44% YoY, escalating from 149,800 in Q1 2022 to 215,700 in the same period of 2023. It confirms that the number of retail traders and individual investors are still advancing strongly since the covid pandemic. This is at a time when people are looking for proactive ways to protect their savings and wealth against record-high inflation.

What Is the Role of XTB’s Spokesperson?

It is envisioned that the spokesperson would function as an independent mediator, working towards the amicable resolution of significant disputes between individual investors and financial institutions.

In addition, SII and XTB plan to implement joint initiatives to serve individual investors. This includes supporting the development of financial education, promoting issues related to the functioning of the capital market in the public space, and working towards universal access to reliable information about the capital market.

"We believe that gaining such a strong Strategic Partner opens new possibilities for the community of Polish individual investors,” Jarosław Dominiak, the President of the Board of the Association of Individual Investors, commented. “We have ambitious plans on many fronts.”

Also, the Polish investment platform reduced entry barriers for new investors in the past. Recently, XTB launched the InvestResponsibly.com project aimed at promoting responsible investing.

XTB Launches Savings Account, Ups Dividend

Considering the evolving nature of the investment industry and the growing number of individuals seeking ways to protect their wealth against inflation, XTB has decided to introduce a new 'investment-savings' product by the end of the year.

Last month, XTB's CEO, Omar Arnaout, stated that to capture a wider audience, the broker is concentrating on offering products that attract potential new clients, notably excluding contracts for difference (CFDs).

"We aim to expand our product offerings to reach a broader range of clients," Arnaout stated. "New products are crucial for us to break the barrier of 40-55 thousand new accounts. Only new products, coupled with strong marketing efforts, can achieve this goal."

In a recent announcement, the publicly-traded brokerage disclosed that it has abandoned its proposed share buyback plan. Instead, the firm decided to distribute its record profits from 2022 as dividends. The company plans to augment its dividend distribution to PLN 4.86 per share, which is up from the previously proposed PLN 3.25 per share.