by HARIZAH KAMEL / pic by BLOOMBERG

MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF), has unveiled its online investment platform, MIDF Invest, that will allow local investors direct and secure access to stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq at very competitive rates.

“We created this app because we believe investing overseas should be made available and affordable for all. Through this app, we provide a safe environment to do so and we are supervised by Malaysian regulators.

“The public can invest in stocks and ETFs from over 6,000 US companies including a wide-range of Shariah-compliant stocks,” MIDF group MD Datuk Charon Wardini Mokhzani said during the virtual launch yesterday.

As Malaysian investors, both fund managers and individuals, become more sophisticated and knowledgeable in recent years, MIDF noticed a growing interest in investing in other markets, particularly in the US equity market, Charon said.

“This is driven by the need to diversify one’s portfolio as well as the attractions of the high returns of the US markets, driven in part by the performance of technology companies such as Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc and Netflix Inc,” he said.

MIDF Amanah CEO Datuk Dominic Silva said with the launch of its MIDF Invest app, the company is responding to macro trends for consumption of products digitally and fulfilled technologically in an easy way.

“I think that is an area which we will be seeking to focus on in terms of delivery and fulfilment of our products moving forward,” he said.

MIDF head of digitalisation Khairi Shahrin Arief Baki said the company is planning to expand the list of exchanges on the app to beyond NYSE and Nasdaq.

“Hopefully, within the next 12 months, we will add more markets. The US market is still very much the place to go with different sectors to look at, underpinned by the attractiveness and accessibility.

“We see the prices of certain companies have been doing so well during the Covid-19 pandemic and this is an appropriate time to invest in the stock market,” said Khairi.

MIDF Invest has been developed by MIDF in partnership with Saxo Markets Asia Pacific, a licensed subsidiary of Saxo Bank, a well-regulated and industry-leading provider of investment services and technology.

Available now on the Apple App Store and the Android Play Store, the app provides tutorials and research for the novice, charting and other powerful trading tools for the advanced user, and simplifies fund transfers to and from the investor’s Malaysian bank account.

Users can open a Shariah-based account and invest in the large universe of Shariah-compliant shares and ETFs listed on the NYSE and Nasdaq.

MIDF will continue to add more features and investment products to MIDF Invest and will be making it available on desktops and tablets too.

From July 6-31, 2021, MIDF Invest will offer free brokerage for all trades under US$1,000 (RM4,155).