Since the beginning of the year, the number of private investors on the Moscow Exchange has increased by 1.2 million and reached 10 million. This is stated in a message posted on the website of the trading platform.
At the same time, over the past year, five million brokerage accounts were opened – more than in all previous years. The record number of transactions – 1.5 million – was completed in January 2021. “The emergence of an internal investor is important for the entire economy, as it expands the ability of Russian companies to raise capital for business development,” concluded Yury Denisov, Chairman of the Board of the Moscow Exchange.
Now private investors provide a significant part of the turnover in the exchange markets: they account for 42 percent of trading in stocks, 10.5 percent – in bonds, 42 – in derivatives and 14 – in currencies.
Trading in shares of foreign issuers began on the Moscow Exchange in August 2020. Previously, in Russia, they were only available on the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange. These include Apple, Boeing, Facebook and Microsoft.
Earlier in February, the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina explained the increased interest of Russians in investing. According to her, a decrease in deposit rates amid the emergence of convenient investment mechanisms leads to the fact that an increasing number of Russians enter the stock market. At the same time, the Central Bank believes that inexperienced investors need to be protected from complex financial instruments.