Bursa Malaysia reclassifies investor accounts

PETALING JAYA: Bursa Malaysia Bhd has implemented a reclassification of its equities trading data, marking the first major update to its reporting structure since 2008.

The move is designed to provide a more granular reflection of the equity trading landscape, particularly given the rapid evolution of digital brokerage and nominee structures, as well as advancements in reporting capability.

The reclassification primarily addresses two areas: the segmentation of nominee accounts and reclassification of foreign-owned, locally incorporated institutions. Previously, all "nominee" accounts were grouped under the institutional segment.

Nominee accounts held by individuals, whose information was provided by Participating Organisations, are now identified as retail participation, while those held by entities remain institutional.

Secondly, the exchange is reclassifying the trade flow of foreign-owned but locally incorporated institutions from "foreign" to "local". This change is based on the source of funds: because these entities primarily manage local money, their activity represents domestic investment rather than foreign capital.

The primary catalyst for this overhaul is a significant shift in the market landscape. Between 2024 and 2025, Bursa Malaysia observed a fivefold increase in new nominee account openings compared with the 2021-2023 averages, reaching figures between 340,000 and 400,000.

This surge is largely driven by the adoption of digital trading platforms by brokers which account for over 80% of new nominee accounts since 2024.

The update ensures that the "structural shift" toward retail participation intermediated through digital channels and nominees structure is visible to the market.

Following the reclassification, Bursa Malaysia's daily trade statistics will now feature three clear categories: Foreign Institutional, Local Institutional, and Retail.

While the underlying market activity and settlement processes remain unchanged, the reported data will look different, reflecting the reattribution of investor trade.

To ensure comparability, Bursa Malaysia will restate data from 2024 onwards so that analysts can perform like-for-like comparisons.

These changes are expected provide the "market intelligence" necessary to reflect the true source of investment flows in Malaysia's growing capital market.