Securities firms in Japan are moving to level the playing field between institutional and individual investors. The companies hope to expand access to powerful trading tools as more people step into the markets.
Algorithmic trading is a system that uses sophisticated programs to automatically place buy and sell orders. It can be set to carry out transactions in stock markets and more based on a range of conditions, such as timing and order type.
The systems have mainly been used by institutional investors.
Au Kabucom Securities is developing an app to put the technology into the hands of individuals.
One feature allows users to pick from a variety of stock trading patterns and instantly place orders based on the best quotes.
The number of individual investors is rising in Japan on the back of the expansion of the NISA tax-exemption program. The trading services hope to help users navigate an increasingly complex trading landscape.
Au Kabucom Securities officer, Fukushima Teruhisa, says: “The speed of stock trading has increased, making it difficult to place orders by just looking at market movements. We want to create an environment where both institutional and individual investors can trade on equal footing.”
Another Japanese firm, Rakuten Securities, is already offering its own algorithmic trading service to individuals.