The securities industry has experienced a severe 7% decline, driven mainly by high fluctuations in the Thai bourse this year amid tougher competition among major players.
"However, we expect the situation will be better next year, as the global economy should become more stable," said Kongkiat Opaswongkarn, chief executive of Asia Plus Securities (APS).
He said the poor performance of the equities market this year had hit the company's net profit, with the nine-month total coming in at 435 million baht, down by 32.6% year-on-year.
The third quarter saw the worst profit of the year, as the Thai stock market was hit hard by speculation over signs the US Federal Reserve would raise its interest rate, plus the high volatility of the euro zone, Mr Kongkiat said.
"Driven by two major external factors, emerging countries including Thailand were shaken due to fund flows and the appreciation of the US dollar," he said.
Mr Kongkiat said while global factors remained uncertain, he still recommended global investments due to the relatively small size of the local bourse.
"The Thai stock market accounts for a very small share among other stock markets. Investment in other countries continues to experience high growth," he said.
Mr Kongkiat said APS so far had diversified into investment banking, investment and asset management, focusing on full services such as providing research for clients in both the retail and institutional sectors.
Current revenue breakdown is well balanced among brokerage fees, investment returns and fee-based revenue, he said.
"We adjusted our business direction a few years ago and can now avoid the effects of high competition amid the free-market environment," Mr Kongkiat said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand's daily turnover to Nov 9 was 40.9 billion baht.
At the same time, APS's daily trading value was 2.67 billion baht, with its average commission charged at 0.18%, slightly higher than the industry average of 0.14% to 0.15%.
However, its nine-month brokerage fee revenue was 280 million baht, down by 42.3% year-on-year.
Mr Kongkiat said the wealth management business had seen a significant rise, especially accredited investors interested mostly in high-yield local corporate bonds.
All enjoyed a return of 4-6% per year on high-yield bond products, while asset size is expected to continue to increase.
The asset size of the corporate high-yield bond industry at present is more than 100 billion baht.