As retail investing takes the world by storm during the Covid-19 pandemic, moomoo users in Singapore turn to one another for connection, support, insights and even validation as they go about their investment journey
Hottest social conversations over the past five months are diverse, ranging from the outlook for equities, in particular vaccine and tech stocks, to managing one’s emotions should losses in investing occur
Percentage of female users on the moomoo app in Singapore grew from 36 percent in March 2021 to 41 percent in September 2021
The social aspect of investing has picked up pace during this pandemic, as users of popular investing platform moomoo actively engage in the in-app, real-time social community forums to exchange ideas and insights on investment-related topics with like-minded individuals.
Traditionally geared towards more lifestyle updates and discussions, millennials and Gen Zs – which make up more than 70 percent of moomoo’s users – are making their preference for social sharing heard. Social sharing has spilled over to the investment world especially for these group of users age 18 to 41 years old, with the 「moo」 community buzzing with daily conversations on the latest in the investment and financial world since the moomoo platform was officially launched here in March this year.
moomoo, which is consistently among the top three financial apps by download volume in Singapore since then, is also experiencing a steady uptick in the number of female users.
This is according to findings from Moomoo Financial Singapore Pte. Ltd. (moomoo SG), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nasdaq-listed Futu Holdings (Futu). Moomoo SG offers investment products for trading via the moomoo platform locally, and it is committed to making investing easier, more digestible and smarter.
Investing made social
The study found that over the period of July 2021 to November 2021, hot topics discussed1 (please see Annex A for list of hot topics in the period) based on number of interactions (e.g. comments, likes, shares) among over 220,000 users in the moomoo community include:
The valuation vs market prices of pharma stocks such as Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX), which picked up pace following announcements of Pfizer’s antiviral Covid-19 pill.
Outlook for big tech and blue-chip stocks such as Apple, which deepened upon its quarterly results announcement, and potential of Sea Limited share price growth, on the back of its founder Forrest Li’s ranking as Singapore’s richest person according to Fortune magazine.
Discussions on the US stock market rally and whether it can continue, fears of a stock market correction, and the importance of managing emotions and having a plan when it comes to investing.
Discussions on important trends shaping the future of investing, including the new-age crop of retail investors who are greater risk-takers with a 「You Only Live Once」 (「YOLO」) mindset as well as investing in the trends of tomorrow relating to electric vehicles (EV) stocks.
Mr. Gavin Chia, moomoo SG Managing Director said: 「The engaging in-app social community experience on moomoo is unlike any other provided on a digital trading platform, and has further contributed to moomoo’s popularity among investors. This is especially welcomed by Singapore-based users, which comprises many beginner retail investors.
「We expect this social aspect of investing to gain traction as people leverage online communities to become smarter, more clued-in traders by seeking investment ideas and insights, and to find a supportive network in their respective financial journey. Through the various topics discussed, you can tell that users are very hungry for information, want to keep themselves abreast with the latest happenings in the financial world, and want to be positioned well for the investing trends of tomorrow.
「From the conversations, one can also see their hopes, fears, and aspirations, but that they all share a common goal of being smarter investors.」
More women investing in Singapore
While investing is traditionally thought to be male-dominated, the power of social tools and sharing is knocking down the barriers for women. For the moomoo community in Singapore, the percentage of female users on moomoo app has increased from 36 percent in March to 41 percent in September this year – a five percentage points increase in six months.
The data on moomoo app also show that while the number of times male and female users logging into moomoo daily is fairly on par2, male users are more engaged than female users – reading more articles3 and responding to discussions more frequently4. They also appear to have more diversified portfolios5, viewing information about shares more than women.
Mr. Chia added: 「It is an encouraging sign to see an uptick in women users of our investing platform, who may be drawn to how simple and digestible we make investing to be with our suite of educational resources. For example, we added 249 new videos and infographics covering 40 courses and topics during the quarter ended 30 September. These education content aims to fill the knowledge gaps that our users may have.
「We will continue to uplift financial literacy and support the financial inclusion of women in investing.」
Consistently among the top three financial apps by download volume in Singapore in 3QFY2021, moomoo sustains popularity in Singapore
The findings of the consumer behaviour study further underscore Futu’s global expansion strategy that accelerated in the third quarter of this year. The Singapore market, in particular, witnessed a 52.4 percent increase in the scale of client assets as compared to the last quarter.
The increase was driven by several key initiatives, including the launch of new products such as funds, U.S. IPOs for accredited investors and structured warrants to meet the diversified investment needs of Singapore clients. On top of that, there is also continued, dedicated investor education and resources on moomoo, as well as platform updates to include more tools and resources for smarter investing. In collaboration with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and other major financial institutions, Futu also jointly held seminars and featured events such as the paper trading competition, which sees over 10,000 participants each month using paper money to trade and test out their investing strategies.
moomoo is set to ride the next wave of democratising investing and building a social community equipped with the state-of-the-art tools to empower all levels of investors.