Published August 19, 2008

Retail investors get live STI feed for free

SAS and member firms iron out issues of cost and technical requirements

By LYNETTE KHOO
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AFTER eight months from the launch of the revamped Straits Times Index (STI), retail investors are finally getting real-time data on the STI via their online trading platforms.

This follows a series of discussions by the Securities Association of Singapore (SAS) and its member firms, consisting of all 10 local securities broking firms and three foreign stockbrokers operating here.

SAS said it has resolved financial costs and addressed all technical requirements for the FTSE-computed index to be shown live on its member firms' Internet trading platforms.

Since June 13, local brokers started receiving live data feeds for the STI on their dealers' trading terminals again, after nearly six months of doing without. But that access was not made available to retail investors then.

Starting from yesterday, retail investors can access real-time index feed through the brokers' Internet trading platform for free secured by contract at least until end-2012.

This access comes with a condition - to be agreed upon individually - that the real-time index is for personal use only, and not for redistribution.

Though the waiver of end-user charges was agreed upon back in May, the SAS said it has had to work with FTSE to streamline and revise the terms and conditions of the contract to reflect this agreement.

Providing some colour on what went on in the discussions, SAS CEO Lim Eng Hai said that 'much of the time-consuming negotiations had centred on securing a waiver of end-user charges which might otherwise have cost online investors and traders some money every month'.

The major costs included a one-time system integration costs of up to S$20,000 to make the Internet trading platform receive the feed and an annual fee of US$6,000 per year to FTSE to redistribute the live index prices on their websites. Each firm also has to pay recurring carrier costs of about S$20,000 per year payable to third-parties such as Reuters to pipe the data feed from London to Singapore.

For the most affected firms, the total costs of the newly completed transition include S$25,000 in one-time integration costs and up to S$33,000 in annual recurring costs for each firm.

'As the broking houses will be absorbing all of these financial costs, there will be no cost impact on the tens of thousands of retail investors, Mr Lim said.