DragonFi Securities Revolutionizes Retirement Savings with PERA+ Digital Platform
DragonFi Securities, Inc. has significantly modernized the landscape of retirement savings in the Philippines with the launch of PERA+, the country’s first fully digital Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) platform. This pioneering offering provides a seamless, entirely online facility for Filipinos to efficiently open and manage their personalized retirement accounts.
DragonFi Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jon Carlo C. Lim stated that the platform fundamentally modernizes the traditional method Filipinos use to prepare for their retirement years. By making the entire process digital, simple, and easily accessible, DragonFi is actively empowering a greater number of Filipinos to take immediate control of their financial future.
The platform’s core functionality centers on paperless account setup and continuous management, a crucial feature that eliminates the prior necessity for in-person branch visits, dramatically improving user convenience and accessibility. PERA+ offers comprehensive retirement Investment options, which notably include a selection of both stocks and various funds, coupled with attractive tax incentives provided by the government.
These incentives are a major draw for the voluntary retirement savings program, featuring a 5% tax credit on annual contributions, completely tax-free growth on the investments over time, and the significant benefit of the absence of estate tax on inherited assets held within the retirement account. The PERA program itself serves a vital role in supplementing statutory retirement benefits derived from the Social Security System, the Government Service Insurance System, and additional employer-provided plans, establishing a multilayered approach to securing an individual’s financial Economy post-career.
Accelerating PERA Adoption Through Strategic Regulatory and Financial Support
The introduction of the PERA+ digital platform by DragonFi aligns perfectly with strategic regulatory developments aimed at expanding financial inclusion and participation in the national retirement savings program. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) laid the groundwork for this digital evolution in September 2023 when it issued Memorandum Circular No. 14, a key regulation that broadened the pool of eligible PERA administrators.
This critical circular permitted securities brokers, Investment houses, and fund managers to be accredited as administrators, moving beyond the traditional banking sector. Capitalizing on this new framework, DragonFi became the very first PERA administrator to receive accreditation under this expanded structure in January of the following year.
To further accelerate public adoption and encourage first-time retirement saving, the company launched a substantial P10-million Matching Grant Program. This innovative program provides a significant P5,000 matching contribution for all new users who deposit at least P5,000 into their new PERA+ accounts within a specific promotional window, running from November 25 to December 19.
DragonFi Co-Founder and DoubleDragon Corp. (DD) Chairman Edgar “Injap” J. Sia II underscored the importance of this initiative, noting that financial inclusion begins with access, and the P10-million PERA Matching Grant Program is specifically designed to help Filipinos kickstart their retirement savings and actively build tangible wealth for their future.
The company confirmed that this generous grant fund was secured immediately following its accreditation as the first PERA administrator, with the fund being personally provided by Mr. Sia to encourage wider PERA participation and support long-term savings through the use of modern digital platforms and robust data-driven tools.
Digital Innovation and Corporate Backing Drive Financial Inclusion
The launch of PERA+ is a powerful demonstration of how digital innovation, supported by robust corporate Finance, can dramatically enhance financial inclusion within the local Economy. DragonFi is not a standalone venture; it was launched in May 2023 as the stock brokerage arm of DoubleDragon Corp., a well-established and publicly listed Investment holding and real estate company.
This affiliation provides DragonFi with a solid foundation of financial stability and corporate governance, boosting investor confidence in the new PERA platform. The move to digitize the entire PERA process is a significant step towards demystifying retirement savings, transforming what was once a paperwork-heavy, branch-dependent process into a few clicks on a mobile or web platform.
This shift significantly lowers the friction for participation, making it accessible to overseas Filipino workers and young professionals who primarily manage their Finance digitally. By integrating PERA Investment options—including stocks and funds—directly into a user-friendly digital interface, DragonFi is simultaneously promoting financial literacy and long-term saving discipline.
The tax benefits inherent to PERA, such as the 5% tax credit and tax-free growth, combined with the immediate financial incentive of the matching grant, create an extremely compelling case for immediate adoption. This overall strategy showcases a clear commitment to using technology to drive both Business growth for DragonFi and substantial financial well-being benefits for the broader Filipino public.
Financial Analyst Commentary: PERA+ as a Catalyst for Capital Market Deepening
The introduction of PERA+ by DragonFi represents a market-disruptive event with significant implications for the deepening of the Philippines’ capital markets and the structure of domestic Investment flows. By enabling fully digital onboarding for PERA, DragonFi effectively eliminates the geographic and administrative barriers that have historically hampered mass participation in the retirement scheme, which remains underutilized years after its inception.
This move is forecasted to dramatically increase the penetration rate of PERA accounts, channeling billions of pesos of traditionally held savings, such as those in low-yield bank deposits, into the local equity and bond markets. From a Finance perspective, this new retail liquidity is essential for lowering the reliance on volatile foreign portfolio Investments, providing a more stable and domestically anchored source of long-term capital for Philippine corporations and government infrastructure projects, which is critical for sustained national Economy expansion.
The SEC’s strategic inclusion of brokers like DragonFi as administrators is an astute regulatory move that fosters competition and encourages innovation, such as the substantial P10 million grant, effectively turning non-bank financial institutions into key drivers of national savings mobilization. While the initial impact on Assets Under Management (AUM) for established trust banks may be negligible, the long-term trend suggests a material shift in market share toward technologically agile firms like DragonFi, which are better positioned to capture the digitally native demographic and the vast remittance market of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
This digital shift ultimately validates the regulatory push for digital transformation in Finance, setting a new competitive benchmark for all existing PERA providers and accelerating the integration of retail investors into the formal Investment landscape, thereby fostering a more robust and resilient domestic capital market.
