DragonFi gets first Pera permit under new rules

DragonFi Securities Inc. has secured accreditation from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an administrator of retirement savings programs for Filipinos, the first company to achieve this under new regulations.

The SEC said in a statement on Thursday that the application of DragonFi, the stock brokerage venture of tycoon Edgar Sia II’s DoubleDragon Corp., as a Personal Equity and Retirement Accounts (Pera) administrator was approved on Dec. 18.

However, the corporate watchdog noted that this was still subject to DragonFi’s compliance “with certain remaining requirements.”

READ: SEC issues rules for retirement savings administrators

Pera is a voluntary personal retirement savings program that is meant to supplement benefits under the state-run Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System.

Last September, the SEC issued Memorandum Circular No. 14, Series of 2024, which provides the guidelines on the accreditation requirements of Pera market participants.

The memo expanded eligibility of Pera administrators, or those responsible for overseeing and maintaining individual accounts, to include SEC-regulated securities brokers, investment houses and investment company advisers or fund managers.

Before the issuance of the new guidelines, only banks, trust corporations and insurance firms were qualified to provide Pera-related services.

“This approval is a significant step toward empowering Filipinos to secure their financial future while easing fiscal pressures on the government in the long run,” SEC Chair Emilio Aquino said in a statement.

Under the SEC’s expanded guidelines, market participants that offer Pera products need to maintain a net worth of at least P100 million at all times and file an application for the issuance of a qualification certificate with the commission’s Markets and Securities Regulation Department.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that Pera contributors numbered 5,555 by the end of 2023, up by 8.9 percent from the previous year, with total contributions growing by a fifth to P396.3 million. —Meg J. Adonis