Individual investors on BSE double

The number of individual investors actively trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange doubled over the last 12 months – most are Romanians.

Over 3,600 individuals bought shares on the BSE last month, compared with 1,956 in August of last year.

Analysing the number of buyers is the best way to assess investor interest in the market, since many of those selling are in fact only converting shares they acquired through the Mass Privatisation Programme into cash.

Individual investors were joined by over 100 corporate investors each month, most being brokerage firms and Romanian and foreign investment funds. Their number has remained relatively constant in recent years, rarely rising above 160.

The number of buyers began to grow visibly in January, less than two months after the beginning of growth in the Stock Exchange. The BET index, which gauges the most frequently traded stocks on the market, has gained 50% since the start of the year, while SIFs (financial investment companies), the favourites among small Romanian investors, gained 85%. The decreases that began in July happened simultaneously with the slight drop in the number of investors, which brokers put down to people going on holiday over the summer. The Stock Exchange saw the highest number of buyers in July, with more than 4,800 investors purchasing shares.

Overall yearly figures are up, since not all investors buy on a monthly basis. More than 11,200 investors bought shares on the BSE last year, slightly less than in 2002.