(Toss Securities)
(Toss Securities)

Toss Securities said Thursday that its domestic stock trading volume surged to a record 70.2 trillion won ($48 billion) in January, driven by a sharp rise in investor participation after the firm eliminated trading commissions.

Trading volume jumped 136 percent from December to 29.7 trillion won, far outpacing the broader market’s growth rate of 92 percent over the same period, the brokerage said.

The surge came amid a broader market rally. Across all platforms, domestic stock trading by individual investors rose to 1,898.1 trillion won in January, nearly doubling from 988.7 trillion won a month earlier, according to market data.

Toss Securities said its number of active users climbed to an all-time high, increasing by about 50 percent from December, reflecting heightened retail participation during the market upswing.

Cumulative net deposits — a measure of net customer inflows — rose 3.4 times from December and nearly sixfold compared with November, the firm added, signaling accelerating fund inflows alongside increased trading activity.

Toss Securities introduced commission-free trading for domestic stocks from Dec. 15 through the end of June, aiming to reduce barriers to entry and improve accessibility for individual investors.

“The decision to focus on cutting fees — the cost most directly felt by investors during a market rally — appears to have driven a meaningful change in customer behavior,” a Toss Securities official said.

“Rather than prioritizing short-term performance, we will focus on achieving sustainable growth by improving the overall user experience throughout the investment process,” the official added.


andreahaneu@heraldcorp.com