“It’s over the era of online trading, now we need to talk about telematic investments ». And the North-West is among the most active realities. The pragmatism of Vincenzo Tedeschi, CEO of Directa, the Turin-based Sim pioneer in online securities trading, is clear. Also and especially after the pandemic, which accelerated the digitalization processes of the economy and brought people closer to the web, no longer seen as an enemy but as a companion of everyday life.
How has the online trading landscape changed?
“Are passed through several stages. And it is certain that in Italy, in general, there has been an important speed up in this sense. From the very beginning. Suffice it to say that Borsa Italiana was one of the first to adopt the electronic trading market. In practice, the intervention of the human operator was bypassed. Piazza Affari was among the first in the world to be among the stock exchanges that supported telematic exchanges. Element that has favored online trading, which has also made it possible to halve the costs of trading ».
And on the North-West front? How did it evolve?
“Let’s go from a given, linked to the pandemic. Directa has doubled its clients in the last year and a half compared to clients taken in our 25 years of business. And it is a clientele more devoted to investments, rather than to trading in the strict sense. And we noticed that for Piedmont there was a strong over-penetration compared to the national average. Against a resident population equal to 7% of the total on a domestic basis, our new customers were 11%. Factor that makes us affirm that there has been a greater predisposition to digitization, and therefore to our services “.
Liguria and Valle d’Aosta?
«In Liguria did not occur. Compared to 2.56% of the resident population, our new customers were exactly 2.56%, therefore with a neutral impact. As for the Aosta Valley, on the other hand, compared to 0.2% of the resident population, it saw an increase of 0.17%. So we have two neutral regions and a Piedmont that outperforms ».
And the registry front? Have more young people approached trading?
Respect in Italy, there is a 14% of the population between 25 and 35 years of age. We have 32% of that bracket doing online trading. Same thing between the ages of 35 and 45, where there is 18% on a national basis compared to 27% of our customers ».
What to expect from the North-West quadrant in the coming years?
“While we are directed on the entire national territory, the strategy is focusing with ad hoc partnerships with different realities of the territory. As in the case of cooperative credit banks, so that the client can go and use a mixed service, so as to hold cash and securities with his bank of trust, but then negotiate with us. This is the case of Banca d’Alba, Banca Alpi Marittime, the rural bank of Boves and the Bcc of Cherasco ».