By James A. Loyola Leading online stockbroker COL Financial Group, Inc. (COL) reported that its net income more than doubled, rising 107 percent to P207.8 million in the first quarter of the year as it continued to benefit from its investments in growing the retail market. In a statement, COL said revenues jumped 71.2 percent to a quarterly record of P365.7 million, primarily led by an 87.3 percent increase in commission revenues and the strong growth in interest income and trailer fees. Commission revenues were boosted by higher trading activity in the quarter, as more of COL’s self-directed clients increased their participation in the stock market and as COL strengthened its efforts to provide market guidance to its clients. The increase in commission revenues is also attributable to the rapid growth of COL’s retail customers. The company’s client base grew 21.4 percent year-on-year to over 262,000 accounts as of the end of the first quarter of 2018, driven by new accounts from COL’s four investor centers and referrals from existing clients. Client equity expanded by 15.5 percent year-on-year to R73.4 billion on strong net new flows from the retail segment–-a remarkable feat given the weak market condition in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the company’s mutual fund distribution business, COL Fund Source, reported that its quarterly net sales reached a new record of P311.1 million while Assets Under Administration jumped 63.8 percent to P2.4 billion as of end-March 2018. COL ended the first quarter as the number one stockbroker in the PSE for the first time in the company’s 19-year history. The company’s market share reached a new record high of 9.2 percent at the end of the quarter, from 5.8 percent as of the first quarter of last year. “Our outstanding performance in recent quarters reflects our strategy of focusing on the underserved retail investor base, which is scalable and seeing rapid growth,” said COL President Dino Bate. He added that, “moving forward, we will strive to further improve our customers’ investing experience by equipping them with better tools and guidance, and by continuing to enhance the products and services that we offer them.”