"We aim to be a companion that can support retail investors even in a challenging investment environment."
Lee Yeong-gon, head of the Toss Securities Research Center, reaffirmed his initial statement from two years ago when the center was launched—promising research tailored specifically for individual investors—while speaking with Money Today on the 12th. When asked about future directions, Lee said, "I want to help investors gain the ability to acquire information themselves and make investment decisions."
The Toss Securities Research Center, established in September 2024, has accumulated a total of 3 million users and 26 million views as of the end of last month. This represents a surge of 2 million users and 19 million views compared to one year ago. As of this month, user demographics are evenly distributed across all age groups: △25% in their 40s, △22% in their 50s, △21% in their 30s, and △20% in their 20s.
A representative work is the in-depth field report series "We've Been There." Researchers traveled directly to locations such as the United States and China to cover major investment issues and strategies, including artificial intelligence (AI), as well as interviews with industry and policy officials. Lee Ji-sun, a researcher, stated, "Rather than chasing short-term stock price strength, we focus on improving individual investors' visibility of investment information by selecting themes worth watching for three to five years or more when determining our destinations."
Reports that break away from the traditional format of compressing graphs and text onto A4 paper and are restructured like newsletters are also drawing attention. The company's fintech identity is evident in its efforts, such as deploying professional editors to optimize content for smartphone screens and actively utilizing tracking data to gauge reader demand and reactions.
In stock reports, the center continues its bold move of completely excluding investment opinions (buy, neutral, sell) and target prices. These are items typically presented at the beginning of reports from other securities firms. Lee Yeong-gon explained, "This is an effort to encourage investors to focus on the basis for their judgments and decisions rather than being fixated on results."
Toss Securities' strategy, which focuses on individual brokerage and financial products rather than institutional investors, has expanded the Research Center's room for maneuver. In particular, because there are no institutional investor clients demanding reports for every stock or sector event, analysts can lead the selection of analysis targets—an environment that even researchers at other securities firms envy.
The securities industry is paying attention to the independence of Toss Securities' research, which allows it to speak out without considering the interests of sales departments. A representative example is a report from August 13 that assessed rumors of Solidigm's U.S. listing as an "issue unfavorable to existing SK Hynix shareholders." Even two months after its publication, the report continues to be frequently cited both inside and outside the industry.
When asked about observed retail investment trends this year, Toss Securities researchers noted that investors' knowledge levels and information utilization have improved significantly compared to the past. They advised that it is necessary to maintain a consistent connection with the stock market even in phases where investor sentiment weakens.
Han Sang-won, a researcher, said, "There are sayings in the stock market such as 'don't go where it's noisy' and 'show interest when others don't,' but reviewing this year's situation, the opposite has happened, which is somewhat disappointing." He added, "An investment culture where the majority make money is our research goal."
The research team emphasized the likelihood that the domestic stock market will continue to fluctuate within a box range until year-end, while urging attention to cycle variables stemming from AI. Regarding the U.S. stock market, they identified earnings calls of major financial stocks as a short-term watershed for gauging the fiscal health trends of big tech companies.
Lee Yeong-gon said, "Looking at valuations centered on domestic semiconductors, stock prices are in an attractive situation, and additional shareholder return measures could support the downside, but it is difficult to say that upside will definitely appear." He added, "It will take time to determine whether big tech-driven investment and profit growth can continue to rise steadily without volatility."
Lee Ji-sun stated, "U.S. financial stocks have significant market influence, yet interest in them within Korea has been low recently. Signals of additional AI-oriented investment from the financial sector are a point we view as very important." She added, "If positive statements emerge, it could indicate the possibility of upward revisions to earnings forecasts not only for U.S. companies but also for Korean semiconductor materials, components and equipment."
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