The Copenhagen-based multi-asset brokerage group, Saxo Bank on Thursday reported third consecutive monthly fall in trading volumes, despite favourable industry dynamics. Though it managed to recover from the weak sentiment of past two months and witnessed sizable consolidation in the key volumes segment.
During May 2018, Overall the bank reported an average daily trading volume of $17.6 billion, down slightly from $17.7 billion in April. It is also 42 per cent lower from the February peak of $30.6 billion. The total trading volume during the month came in at $404.5 billion versus $372.4 billion in April of which FX trading totalled $283 billion, Equities $68 billion, Commodities $36 billion, and Fixed Income products $17 billion. The month of May had more trading days compared to April, hence the 9 per cent increase was reported.
In the forex segment, average daily volumes came in at $12.3 billion, which is 5.12 per cent higher month-over-month from $11.7 billion in April 2018. May’s ADV is also higher year-over-year, highlighting an increase of 21 per cent from $10.2 billion in May 2017.
The brokerage house had a busy start to the year with its restructuring of business operations after the takeover by China’s Geely Group. The group is now expanding towards the Asia Pacific with Chinese market the main focus and is scaling down its European operations. It had made a series of executive moves in company’s Middle East operations and also in China’s operation earlier this year.
Yesterday, the group also announced a cooperation to launch a new digital investment portfolio in the SaxoSelect universe based on Nasdaq Dorsey Wright research.
The new portfolio, known as Nasdaq DW Global Momentum will be offering a smart and cost-effective way to invest in a portfolio of 30-40 quality stock based on the relative-strength ranking formulated by Nasdaq Dorsey Wright (DW). The portfolio focuses on developed and emerging markets stocks and excludes the U.S.
Saxo Select is an automated trading and investment service that enable clients of Saxo Bank to invest in pre-selected portfolios. The new Nasdaq portfolio complements are a range of more than 28 portfolios, including the one from Morningstar and Blackrock. The clients in SaxoSelect, have the full view of each of the stocks in their portfolio and crucially they will own the actual stocks selected by Nasdaq.
Kim Fournais, CEO and founder of Saxo Bank commented:
“We are delighted to partner with Nasdaq and bring Nasdaq Dorsey Wright’s respected research to our clients. By combining our unique trading technology with Nasdaq’s expertise in investment management, we create a strong alternative to more traditional asset management solutions at a very competitive price. We are proud to turn Nasdaq’s research and methodology into actionable investment opportunities.”
“Our SaxoSelect offering is underpinned by the belief that technology will profoundly change the asset management industry. Access to technology, demand for transparency, and focus on performance will change the way individuals manage their savings.”
“The cooperation with Nasdaq also underlines the strength of our facilitator business model: we select the best products and services from the best provider for our clients.”
Jay Gragnani, Head of Research and Client Engagement at Nasdaq Dorsey Wright also commented:
“The investment landscape continues to change with developments in technology and this has helped firms to develop scale by combining the complementary strengths of different participants. Our collaboration with Saxo Bank turns our investment strategy into a cost-effective and transparent portfolio offering that can be utilised by a wide range of investors and bring greater transparency and access to markets.”
