PSE wants more OFWs to invest in stock market

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June 19, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) wants to tap on the vast number of Filipinos abroad to help boost the country’s capital markets.

The PSE said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), forging a partnership to promote investment literacy for overseas Filipinos.

The collaboration is aimed at empowering overseas Filipinos to become active participants in the Philippine capital markets.

“I hope the PSE and CFO can amplify the shared mission of promoting the well-being, in this case their economic or financial well-being, of Filipinos across the globe,” PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon said.

Monzon said that only less than one percent of overseas Filipinos have stock market accounts.

He said that collaborations with key government agencies closely coordinating with overseas Filipinos would help grow this number.

“By partnering with CFO, PSE will now be able to reach Filipinos who have migrated overseas – specifically those who are permanent residents abroad, including their immediate family members,” Monzon said.

Learning sessions and information campaigns form part of the projects identified in the memorandum of understanding signed between the PSE and CFO.

PSE said it would showcase its PSE Academy website and its online and mobile app-based platforms for disclosures, market data and initial public offering subscription, among others, in the webinars and trainings for overseas Filipinos.

In 2024, the number of stock market accounts in the PSE reached 2.86 million, up by 50 percent from 1.91 million in the previous year.

Retail investors comprised 98.9 percent of total account owners, while institutional investors made up the remaining 1.1 percent.

The PSE said that 99 percent of accounts were owned by local investors, while the rest were held by foreign investors.

In terms of profile, retail investors based locally and overseas made up 99.4 percent and 0.6 percent of total accounts, respectively.

“More than the numbers, what is important is that retail investors are equipped with investment know-how to avoid investing pitfalls,” Monzon earlier said.

“We address this need for investor education through our various investing literacy initiatives. We also actively work with trading participants and government and private entities to spread the word about personal finance and stock market investing,” he said.