Kasikorn Securities (KSecurities) aims to keep its place among the top five brokerage houses after its strategic alliance with Macquarie Securities (Thailand) expires at the end of this month.
The local brokerage house will not extend its contract with Macquarie Securities due to their different targeted customers, after which the company will conduct its own research, said Thiti Tantikulanan, chief executive of KSecurities.
Retail investors remain the company's targeted clientele, he said.
KSecurities signed the alliance contract with Macquarie Securities in February 2012. The agreement covers investment banking services in relation to the equity capital market and inbound and outbound mergers and acquisitions. It provides for exclusive cooperation in institutional equity sales and brokerage services and co-branded research for domestic clients.
At present, the brokerage house's research covers around 170 stocks including small and mid-cap ones, far above the industry's average of 70-80 stocks.
Mr Thiti said competition in the industry is still intense, so maintaining growth is a major challenge.
However, the company is launching new products and advanced trading platform technology, and providing an easier system to open trading accounts to boost its customer base.
KSecurities now has 74,000 trading accounts in total, of which 35% are active. The company aims to increase its accounts by 20,000, and 40% of the overall accounts are expected to be active.
Investors who trade online represent 59% of the company's 74,000 accounts.
KSecurities charges a stock trading commission of 0.19%, compared with the industry's 0.16-0.17% fees.
Meanwhile, managing director Padermpop Songkroh estimates the SET index will reach 1,650 points in the first half of 2015 and head north to 1,710 in the latter half.
Offshore fund inflows following the European Central Bank's bond-buying of €60 billion (2.22 trillion baht) a month starting from March is expected to propel the Thai stock market.
Despite the upward trend, investors should be cautious as the broader index is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of around 15 times, which is in the top range of its normal trade.
KSecurities yesterday launched its new mobile trading app called "KS Super Stocks", a tool for delivering up-to-date and accurate investment information to investors.