Securities firms rake in record-high Q1 net profits Posted : 2021-04-30 16:45 By Anna J. Park Ample liquidity globally and booming stock markets have benefitted local securities firms, which raked in record-high net profits during the first three months of the year. Brokerages have been the biggest beneficiaries of market liquidity, following stimulus packages rolled out by governments around the world to address the COVID-19 pandemic. And the benchmark KOSPI and tech-heavy KOSDAQ both rallied in the first quarter. Industry sources said Friday that the first-quarter net profits achieved by the country's seven major securities firms, including NH Investment & Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset Securities and Samsung Securities, were estimated to have increased 14-fold year-on-year to around 1.63 trillion won ($1.46 billion).