CORPORATE PROFILE
Abacus Securities Corporation (ASC) was organized in December 1991 with an authorized capital of Php20.0 million. It commenced operations as Broker/Dealer and member of the Manila Stock Exchange (now Philippine Stock Exchange) on March 11, 1992. As of December 31, 1998, ASC increased its paid in capitalization to Php400 million, becoming one of the largest capitalized stock brokerages in the country.
In five years after its commencement on March 1992, ASC established itself as a top Filipino brokerage firm in PSE. Among the awards received by the company are as follows:
“Best Securities House in the Philippines”
Euromoney Awards for Excellence, 1998-1999
“2nd Best in Institutional Sales/Execution”
“2nd Best in Settlements”
Fund Managers Association of the Philippines, 1998
“Best Backroom Support”
“Best in Research (Small Companies)
Fund Managers Association of the Philippines, 2003
These awards put ASC in enviable position as it proved that local stockbrokerages could prove equal to international stockbroker houses. The key factors for ASC’s successes are: professional management, sound investment advisory, strong research team, real-time market information, and commitment to technology and training.
With a strong retail franchise and top tier domestic institutional sales organization and strategically located branches in Binondo, Cebu, and Davao which support the Head Office Sales and Operations, ASC is now positioned to best serve the expanding domestic equities market.
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CORPORATE VISION
“We will become the leading and choice stockbrokerage company in the Philippines.”
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MISSION STATEMENT
“Led by the great spirit that lives in each one of us….
We are committed to:
- Provide impeccable service and value to our clients;
- Provide a meaningful and rewarding career to our co-workers;
- Be a profitable and successful company for our shareholders.
We serve with passion and pride, upholding at all times the highest standards of value and integrity”
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BUSINESS
The Company started out as a "retail" brokering house, catering to high net worth individuals. Through the years, two core business groups, Retail Sales and the Institutional Sales group, evolved and now contribute to ASC's trading volumes. The Company has found a unique niche where it provides clients timely and action-driven research reports with a uniquely "Filipino-flavor". Institutional Investors, both domestic and foreign institutions, have found such research reports invaluable tools for developing their respective trading and investment strategies.
ASC also prides itself with having one of the best-established dront and back-end infrastructure systems in the brokering community. All branches of the Company are capable of executing trades on a real-time basis. Customers' confirmations and reports are automated with a computerized backroom office system. Local and International news services are also in place, giving the Company's research and sales group with up-to-the-second worlwide updates on key market-moving news items.
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ORGANIZATION
ASC initially started operations with a 10-man team back in 1992. At present, the Company employs around 50 full-time professionals and 50 retail sales agents. Retail salesman or agents are compensated on commission basis.
Research Department. ASC prides itself in having one of the better Research Groups in the country. It has a full-time analyst covering each industry or sector of interest. It produces daily and weekly reports, as well as more in-depth company studies. All reports generated by the Research department are action-driven, a quality appreciated by the Company clients.
Institutional Sales Team. The Institutional Sales Team primarily covers domestic institutional investors. It is ranked fifth in terms of trading volumes for domestic institutional sales. It has five sales professionals and two dealers. The Institutional Sales Team is also responsible for sub-broking and foreign sales, a business segment that has shown growing volumes over the last two years.
Retail Sales Team. The Retail Sales Team of ASC is composed of around 50 salespersons, one of the largest retail networks in the Philippines today. Sales people of the Company undergo a thorough and comprehensive training program before they are allowed to take orders and execute trades for customers. They are also briefed on internal procedures and processes. These steps are undertaken to ensure the best quality of service and execution for customers of the Company.
The Company is also committed in providing its own contribution to developing Philippine Capital Market and people working in such a market. It launched the first Professional Stockbrokers' Academy in 1996, trainng top college graduates in such disciplines as Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Technical Analysis, Marketing and even Personal Development. The young graduates of this Academy now comprise a third of Abacus' Retail Sales force.
Customer Service Unit. The Company's commitment to excellence in service is best exemplified by the creation of a Customer Service Unit to handle client inquiries and address client concerns in a timely, professional and competent manner.
Thus, Abacus ensures that its partners in business - its clients - receive the best investment advise, the best trade execution and the best post-trade assistance available in the industry today.
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INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT
ASC also invests in technology. It has three-man Information Technology (IT) team that ensures a reliable front-end and backroom system, and provides timely technical support when necessary. The IT Group is also responsible for evaluating the latest developments in execution and backroom systems and technology.
The excalibur 6000 is at the center of its backroom operations, providing up-to-the-minute information on changes in stock and cash positions, dividend credits, shares or moneys transferred, collateral covers and other pertinent client information. This system was developed and is supported by Asian Institute of Technology, Inc. (AIT), a leading software provider for stock brokering systems in Malaysia and the Philippines.
ASC also uses the Broker Operating System (BOS) front-end system developed and supported by DST Catalyst, a subsidiary of the Chicago Stock Exchange. Each account officer is provided with an off-site on-line trading terminal that ensures quick, responsive and error-free execution of trades. To date, it has also provided certain key customers with similar price-info terminals. All branches are connected to the same BOS facility.
A data center houses the two (2) IBM RS6000 servers as well as digital PABX facility. Abacus also has phone recording for all of its sales and dealing desks.
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MANAGEMENT TEAM
The company derives its competitive advantage from its people. It counts, within its ranks, competent and seasoned professionals with extensive and varied expertise in thefields of investments, banking and finance.
Paulino S. Soo, Chairman and President. Mr. Soo oversees the overall management of ASC and its quite active in the key areas of business development, trading and dealership, operations and control and provides directions inputs for the Research Group. He spent more than 16 years with Citibank, N.A. occupying various positions in Operations, Corporate Banking, Treasury, Consumer and the Investment Bank. The last four years of his stay with Citibank were spent in the Hong Kong Branch, after which he came home to the Philippines to organize ASC. He was also President of the Philippine Bank of Communications, a medium size universal bank from March 1995 to June 1997. He was Governor and Treasurer of the Phillippine Stock Exchange in 1998, and in 1999.
Jack T. Huang, Vice President for Visayas and Mindanao. Mr Huang heads all the provincial branches of the Company and provides oversight on overall management, business development, and sales and trading activities of the said branches. He was proviously connected with Ayala Investment and Development Corporation - Binondo Branch, as Branch Manager for eight years involving himself in money market and stock market trading, and loan syndication. He then joined the Bank of the Philippine Islands' Investment Banking Group in 1983 where he was involved in mergers, acquisitions and investments. In 1990, he was responsible for setting up and managing BPI Business Center engaged in marketing and growing of trust and investment products of BPI.
Lorna A. Tiu, Vice President for Institutional Sales. Ms Tiu oversees the sales and marketing efforts of the Company with regards to Institutional accounts. She is responsible for the business development, accreditation and trading execution of key Philippine Institutional investors. Ms. Tiu was also voted by the Fund Manager's Association of the Philippines as the second (2nd) best Institutional Dealer in terms of sales and execution. Supported by the research Department, her team conducts joint presentation on market developments and stock picks for institutional investors' consideration. She has had extensive experience and expertise in Institutional Sale and Dealership, having spent a number of years at Armstrong Securities, and Jardine Fleming Exchange Capital Securities, Inc.
Raymond Neil S. Franco, Vice President for Research. Mr. Franco is responsible for the direction and operation of the Research Department. He oversees the preparation of financial models, stock reports and recommendations to the Company's retail and institutional clients. Together with his departments's firm and industry specialists, investment and trading stategies are regularly developed for ASC's clients. He also makes regular presentations to clients on market , sectoral and individual corporate developments. Mr. Franco received the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in September 2000 after completing three years of studies and passing three levels of examinations conducted by the Association for Investment Management and Reaserch (based in Virginia, USA). He was also cited by Forbes.com/asia analysts as one of the "Best Stock Picker for 2006". Prior to joining Abacus, he was connected with both Ayala Land Inc. and Citibank N.A as an analyst working on various assignments.
Sheila Marie C. Aguilar, Vice President, Compliance Officer and Chief of Staff. Ms. Aguilar is incharge of controlling the overall securities operations of ASC covering the functional areas of Custody and Nominee Services, Trading and Securities Settlement. She acts as the Head of IT group and has the responsibility of ensuring the reliability of the various systems of the company and evaluating the latest developments both in technology and trading/ backroom systems. She assists the President in the formulation of operating policies and procedures relating to the enhancement of an efficient and effective Operations group. She also oversees the supervision of the Retail Sales Agents as well as the Customer Service Group. Ms. Aguilar is one of the pioneers of ASC. Prior to joining ASC, she led the MIS group of Pryce Securities, Inc.
Melanio Dela Cruz, Vice President, Group Comptroller for Finance. Mr. Dela Cruz oversees the overall financial operations of the First Abacus Group of Companies, of which ASC is part of. As Group Controller, he takes charge of monitoring, handling the cash position of all companies. including ASC, and ensures that financial and management reports are generated in a timely and accurate manner, analyzes and discusses the financial performance of the Company with Mr. Soo. He also participates in the design and operation of reporting and monitoring systems and procedures. He is also tasked with ensuring compliance with relevant rules and regulations.
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