Russia Exchange MOEX Has Well Over 9 Million Retail Investors

More than 626,000 retail investors flocked to Russia’s largest institutional trading venue in the first month of 2021, opening twice as many accounts as the monthly average in the previous year.

Moscow Exchange (MOEX) said in its monthly report that the number of retail investor accounts hit a 9.4 million milestone. The exchange added an average of 350,000 individual accounts each month during 2020 compared with a monthly average increase of 159,000 in 2019. In October, it posted a monthly record with more than 736,000 people opening brokerage accounts.

The number of retail investors holding so-called Individual Investment Accounts (IIA) reached 3.6 million. They have pumped RUB 149.5 billion or nearly $2 billion into January’s volatile trading, of which equities accounted for 83.5%, while bonds and ETFs accounted for %16.4 percent.

However, the exchange did not explain why there had been a jump in retail activity throughout 2020. But, amid concerns over the economic impact from the coronavirus outbreak, there was a brighter side for all trading platforms, which attracted a rush of business as investors scrambled to protect portfolios.

Moex Responded to Covid-19 with Worrying Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, or stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Trad Read this Term

Since 2015, Moex allowed private investors either to open an IIA with a broker (brokerage account) or asset management company (through trust management).

Money may be invested into MOEX’s securities market instruments, such as Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term, shares, government and corporate bonds, as well as ETFs and mutual funds.

The meltdown in financial markets over the virus has sparked a jump in MOEX’s FX trading volumes in December to RUB 31.3 trillion ($424 billion). This figure was up 15 percent month-over-month from the RUB 27.3 trillion ($362 billion) that exchanged hands in November 2020. Moreover, this is higher compared with volumes from the same month a year earlier, having gained 33 percent when weighed against RUB 23.5 trillion in December 2019.

Alongside other asset classes, the FX market has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with worrying volatility.

MOEX, in particular, continues to develop its infrastructure. The exchange has recently unveiled a new FX algorithmic trading service, which comes amid Kremlin-backed efforts to make MOEX one of the world’s leading financial hubs.