The pandemic has been a harsh reminder that we should always have a Plan B for anything, especially when it comes to finances. Healthcare can be very expensive, and not having emergency savings or insurance can mean a huge financial setback that can take years to recover from.
This is probably why a lot of Pinoys have heeded the wakeup call and got into investing more than before. Here's an example—COL Financial, which offers stock market services, experienced a record increase in new investor accounts in 2020.
According to COL's latest quarterly report, its client base grew by a record 80,032 by the end of the third quarter.
Although revenues have decreased from P898.2 million in September, 2019 to P676.3 million in 2020 due to the pandemic, net equity (which is the total assets minus total liabilities) of COL's customers has increased slightly from P76.379 billion to P78.453.1 billion.
Lower revenues and income led to COL's lower return on average equity, which is down to 23.2 percent from 35.7 percent year-on-year.
Long story short: Pinoys are looking for new avenues to earn and to have back-up cash. Online services such as COL's makes it easier for everyone, but of course, you'll first need to do your research if you're thinking of going into the stock market. You can read the basics here: An Expert Explains How to Start Investing in The Stock Market.
