Southeast Asia’s Broker Boom Comes with a Catch
Southeast Asia is attracting growing interest from retail brokers as new market entrants launch locally, obtain licenses, and establish regional offices, while established brokers expand their products and services.
Southeast Asia is becoming a more attractive location for retail brokers, with new market entrants launching locally, obtaining licences or establishing regional offices. Established brokers are expanding their products, marketing, partnerships and local-language services as more retail investors enter financial markets.
A March 2026 report by The Straits Times found that Indonesia's retail investor population had risen from 3.9 million in 2020 to more than 20 million. International firms including Robinhood, South Korea's Hanwha Investment & Securities and Singapore-headquartered Doo Financial are expanding or seeking opportunities in the market.
Robinhood announced in December 2025 that it would acquire two Indonesian businesses to establish a local presence, with initial targets to complete transactions in the first half of 2026. However, the acquisitions have not been publicly confirmed as completed, and the reported target for a full local app launch is now early 2027.
Growing Investor Base
A September 2026 survey of 1,200 consumers across Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam found that two-thirds already invested and another 26% planned to start within 12 months. Investment and trading apps are the primary channel for 49% of investors in Thailand, 48% in Indonesia and 44% in Singapore.
The most striking contrast lies in the rise of digital wallets and super apps, with 31% of investors in the Philippines primarily managing their investments through a digital wallet or super app, compared with just 3% in Singapore. Rising incomes, urbanisation and the growth of the middle class are expanding the pool of people able to invest.
Younger consumers are more comfortable using digital platforms and exploring assets beyond traditional savings products. Indonesia is particularly attractive because of its population size and rapid growth in retail investor numbers, while Vietnam and the Philippines offer other sizeable markets.
While young investors in the region are putting money into more traditional assets – such as equities and bonds – they are also showing an openness to alternative assets.
Digital Transformation
App-based onboarding, digital identity verification, electronic payments and low minimum deposits make it easier to acquire and serve customers without a large branch network. This benefits both local stockbrokers and international forex, CFD and multi-asset brokers.
Social media and trading communities are improving customer acquisition, with younger prospective traders discovering platforms through online communities, influencers, educational content and peer recommendations. Retail investors increasingly want access to overseas equities, indices, commodities, currencies and crypto-related products.
Around three-quarters of cryptocurrency investors in Indonesia are between 18 and 35, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency. In Malaysia, younger investors are also more likely than older generations to hold alternative assets, with almost a quarter of both Gen Z and millennials holding cryptocurrency.
Regulatory Challenges
Singapore provides a useful example of the overlap and distinction between different brokerage businesses. The MAS capital markets licensing framework covers securities, exchange-traded derivatives, OTC derivatives and leveraged foreign exchange trading, subject to applicable licensing requirements and exemptions.
In other countries, the regulatory treatment of leveraged FX trading can be more restrictive. Thailand's central bank, for example, states that retail speculative FX trading through platforms or websites is not currently permitted under its foreign exchange framework.
A Deloitte Thailand study published earlier this year refers to a brokerage industry under sustained pressure from declining trading volumes, prolonged margin compression, rising operating costs and rapid shifts in investor behavior. Many brokerage firms – particularly mid-sized and smaller players – are struggling to invest in technology, product innovation, governance and investor engagement at the required scale to remain competitive.
Market Consolidation Ahead
According to Deloitte, the current level of fragmentation, operating within a finite profit pool, has constrained profitability and inhibited reinvestment across much of the sector. Consolidation can play an important role in strengthening balance sheets, improving operational efficiency and enabling investment in scale-dependent capabilities.
While international brokers want access to new retail customers and local firms are developing digital offerings, established firms may merge, be acquired or leave markets where customer acquisition and compliance costs are too high. The Indonesian moves reported this year illustrate the attraction of establishing a presence in a fast-growing market while highlighting the importance of distinguishing a proposed entry from an operational launch.
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