DragonFi Securities Inc., the stock brokerage arm of DoubleDragon Corp, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to test a product letting Filipino investors access pre-approved US stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) without opening an account with a foreign broker.

Those seeking US equity exposure currently rely on international brokers, often without direct oversight from Philippine regulators. DragonFi’s model uses an over-the-counter depositary receipt, a locally issued security that tracks the value of a specific US stock or ETF.

Buyers hold the local receipt rather than the foreign share directly, gaining exposure to US markets while keeping the transaction within the Philippine regulatory system.

How much an investor can place in foreign assets depends on their existing local holdings.

Those with certified domestic investments may access foreign securities worth up to 50% of that value, while holders of Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) assets may access up to 100% of their equivalent PERA value, according to BusinessWorld and BitPinas.

Foreign securities and cash sit in segregated custody with international partners, while local client funds remain with domestic institutions.

“Filipinos should be able to participate in the world’s largest capital markets through a structure that is locally regulated, transparent and built with investor protection at its core,” said Jon Carlo Lim, DragonFi’s Chief Executive Officer.

The approval falls under SEC’s regulatory sandbox, StratBox, established under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 9, Series of 2024, letting firms trial products before public launch.

Testing will initially cover a small, monitored investor group, with wider rollout requiring further SEC review, InsiderPH told.

SEC has not said when, or if, the product will reach the broader public.

DragonFi describes itself as the first licensed Philippine broker-dealer authorised to test this specific foreign-equity access structure.

Other companies are testing separate products under the same StratBox programme, including BlockShoals Technologies, which is trialling virtual asset services through a partnership with Binance.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Philippines based on an image by perig76 via Magnific.