UP Fintech Holding Limited (“UP Fintech” or the “Company”, Nasdaq: TIGR, and all its subsidiaries and consolidated entities), an online brokerage with a focus on redefining global investing with technologies for the next generation, announced its unaudited financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2022. During the reporting period, UP Fintech registered revenue of US$53.5 million. Non-GAAP net income was US$3.5 million, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of US$4.4 million in the same quarter of last year.
During the reporting period, the number of customer accounts increased by 38,800, totaling 1.9 million, and the number of customers with deposits increased to 731,400, up 38.2% from the same quarter last year. Over 70% of funded accounts were from markets outside of mainland China. Net asset inflow from customers exceeded US$1.5 billion during the second quarter. The company retained 99% of its customers on a quarterly basis.
“Despite market challenges in the first half of 2022, we have remained focused on our clients, bringing product and service innovations, and delivering an exceptional trading experience to everyone. With the introduction of our app’s 8.0 version this quarter, users now can rearrange the in-app functions and prioritize the features that matter the most to them. Our swift product scale-up capabilities and self-developed technology architecture are the cornerstones of our global expansion strategy,” said Wu Tianhua, CEO and founder of UP Fintech.
“Our competitive edge remains strong. During this quarter, our market share in Singapore continued to increase. User engagement and interactions on our Tiger Trade app were also active, boding well for our user loyalty in this region. In Australia, more investors chose us and the trading volume doubled compared to the previous quarter. Looking ahead, despite the challenging macro environment being a headwind, we will stay true to our long-term commitment to being the platform of choice for global investors of all demographics.”
Over 99% of customers with assets retained in Singapore
Newly registered users in Australia up 81% QoQ
In Singapore, UP Fintech continued its momentum in gaining more market share, a sign of industry leadership consolidation with an expanding user base and stronger user loyalty.
During the reporting period, over 99% of the customers with assets were retained in the market. The average client net asset inflows of our newly acquired paying clients in the market exceeded the US$9,000 threshold in the period, surpassing the US$8,000 amount recorded in the previous quarter. User loyalty also stayed strong with a higher monthly active user (MAU) compared to other players.
The company moved to strengthen partnerships with exchanges such as Singapore Exchange (SGX), CME Group, Eurex, and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), providing investors with an ever more diversified product offering.
During the period, the number of local futures trading lots on Tiger Trade in Singapore rose 110.5% year-over-year, and up 19.2% quarter-over-quarter. The local trading volume of options rose 99.8% year-over-year, and up 4.5% quarter-over-quarter. Entrusted by world-renowned institutions such as Société Générale and Nikko Asset Management, UP Fintech also helped them attract more retail clients and build up demand for their products through our proprietary digital platform.
UP Fintech’s community gained bigger popularity in Singapore with the user base, engagement, and the number of posts growing. The amount of user-generated content reached nearly 150,000 pieces per week, making Tiger Community one of the largest and most engaged online investing communities.
Leveraging Tiger Community’s local penetration, more companies have chosen our community as the preferred platform and an effective channel for local investor communications in Singapore. During NIO’s secondary listing on SGX, UP Fintech partnered with the exchange and live streamed NIO’s listing PO ceremony in the community, receiving over 1 million views.
In Australia, the company is still testing the waters and making an all-out effort to localize our products and services, by adding more features that will give local investors more control over their investment, while keeping the user experience simple, intuitive, and superior.
During the period, Tiger Trade app’s rankings rose to No. 31 in Q2, the highest amongst online brokers in Australia. Newly registered users rose 81.1% quarter-over-quarter, and the trading volume also doubled, reflecting the company’s momentum in growing its customer base and winning recognition against a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.
The company in Hong Kong acquired Type 4 (Advising on securities) and 5 licenses (Advising on futures contracts).
Version 8.0 app launched with a better-personalized UI enabled
Steady net deposits of US$1.5 billion
In the second quarter, the company’s commission income stood at US$28.2 million, along with an interest-related income of US$16.0 million. Despite the macroeconomic difficulties, clients were still depositing, with a net deposit surpassing an amount of US$1.5 billion, indicating strong client loyalty and our ability to attract asset inflows.
As the company’s global expansion goes deep, we remain focused on innovating and localizing our products and services by introducing features local users have demanded to best improve their investing experience.
In the second quarter, UP Fintech launched version 8.0 of the Tiger Trade app, enabling users to personalize the front page and switch between pro and lite modes with just one click.
During the period, the demand for wealth management services grew steadily. The number of customers in the Fund Mall increased by 119.1% year-over-year, and the asset under management (AUM) of the Fund Mall service was up by 56.9% year-over-year. The number of Cash Plus users increased by 58.5% year-over-year, and AUM was up by 33.3% year-over-year. Cash Plus gained growing attention from Singaporean investors with the number of users up by 14.9% quarter-over-quarter, and AUM up by 25.4% quarter-over-quarter. These results underscore the value of diversification we are able to offer to clients against heightened volatility.
On the investor education side, UP Fintech relentlessly promoted financial education in spite of the volatile environment. During the period, various educational materials such as “US stock financial statements for beginners” and “US stock market investing for beginners” were made accessible on Tiger Trade for every user, alleviating investors’ stress in hunting for reliable information. As of June 30, UP Fintech held over 200 online seminars and forums, which were joined by industry experts and analysts from world-class institutions, and covered topics such as earnings analysis, trending companies, and hot industry to help investors make better informed financial decisions.
Ranking third in US IPO underwriting of all global brokerages
26 ESOP clients from different sectors added
During the reporting period, other revenues, including investment banking and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), reached US$9.3 million. Benefitting from the solid foundation the company has laid for its investment banking business, it showcased resilience amongst market difficulties. In the reporting period, the company participated in 14 Hong Kong and US IPOs, and served as an underwriter in 11 of these listings.
Third-party data shows that UP Fintech ranked first in the second quarter, and third in the first half among brokerages in terms of overall US IPO underwriting, by number of deals and amount of value. During the first half, the company underwrote 14 US IPOs.
In an effort to reinforce corporate clients’ strategies and deepen the reach of their businesses, UP Fintech continued to scale up its network with potential institutional and high-worth buyers.
In addition, the company issued 20 research reports on well-known companies such as Tencent, Baidu and Alibaba, indicating its in-depth analysis expertise, particularly in ADRs and the tech sector.
UP Fintech signed 26 ESOP clients during the period, with the number of total clients added up to 364, a year-over-year increase of 68%. New clients include industry leaders across different sectors such as healthcare, energy, finance and logistics, including LONGi, a photovoltaic giant with a market value of approximately RMB400 billion.
In this quarter, dozens of companies including NIO, Sirnaomics and BYD Electronics became part of the Tiger Community, and opened enterprise accounts. Tiger also helped over 10 companies, including SF Intra-city, Yidu Tech and Ming Yuan Cloud, bridge effective conversational channels to hundreds of global institutions, analysts, and high-net-worth retail investors.
