Retail Fx Archives - The Industry Spread

ActivTrades Sets Up Premium Cashback Program After Launch of Proprietary Platform

May 3, 2019 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: ActivTrader, Activtrades, Alex Pusco, Brokerhouse IG, CFD, FCA, market, online brokerage, Retail Fx, UK Financial Conduct Authority

ActivTrades, a London-based retail FX and CFD broker regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, has launched a premium Cashback program, exclusively for eligible professional clients, where they are awarded rebates on spread and swaps, as well as interest on unused margin.

Customers are required to trade a monthly average of at least €50 million in notional volume (ex 500 lots of EUR/USD) in order to qualify for rebates, which are then calculated based on 20% of the target spread and 20% of the total swaps. In addition, the broker announced it will pay interest on the average free margin held by the customer during a calendar month, based on an annual rate of 1.25% for Euro, 1.50% for USD, 1.00% for CHF and 1.10% for GBP accounts.

Alex Pusco, Chief Executive Officer of ActivTrades

Alex Pusco, Chief Executive Officer of ActivTrades, commented:

“We are extremely excited about our new Cashback Program. This is a scheme that provides real value and full transparency for high volume traders. Clients enrolled in the scheme will find a new widget in the personal area of our website, showing the notional traded value balance and the potential or acquired rewards, in real time.”

Earlier this year, the award-winning online brokerage unveiled its advanced proprietary trading platform, ActivTrader, which is a product of ActivTrades’ commitment to innovation, boasting an intuitive interface that allows quick and flexible trading in a sophisticated environment.

Delivering online CFD trading services, ActivTrader offers a range of advanced features, including the ‘Market Sentiment’ function which provides a real-time indication of the market direction; the ‘one-click trading’ functionality, that allows the placement of orders (to market or pending) directly from the charts; and the ‘Net All’ feature which allows users to react to price actions and technical signals by quickly aggregating open positions on the same instrument.

At the time of launch, CEO Alex Pusco said the company “entered a new dimension” with its brand new ActivTrader Server. “Having performed brilliantly on thousands of demos last year, it is now processing live accounts. We look forward to considerably accelerating our growth and becoming the recognised leader in the Online Trading Industry. This server is our own property, and has been built to accommodate our present and future needs. And much like ActivTrades itself, it is versatile, fast, and open to change”, Pusco added.

In March 2019, the firm appointed Michael Lippa, former Managing Director of IG Group subsidiary, Brokerhouse IG, to the position of Chief Commercial Officer. He will be responsible for the growth of the company’s European operations and will report directly to founder and CEO, Alex Pusco.

Last year, ActivTrades set up a new office in the Bahamas, based out of Nassau, with the purpose of growing its international clientele base with a greater focus on South American and Asian regions.

CFTC Report Shows Interactive Broker’s 25% Rise in Forex Funds in February

April 4, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: brokerage, Brokers, Capital Markets, CFTC, FX trading, Gain Capital, Interactive Brokers, OANDA, Retail Fx, RFEDs, TD Ameritrade, trading platform

CFTC

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has released data of retail FX deposits at US brokerages on Wednesday. The report also includes the data of FCMs that are registered as Retail Foreign Exchange Dealers (RFEDs) and broker-dealers.

In the month of February, retail FX deposits at US brokerages increased by over $23 million, with the total coming in at $590 million, up by 4 per cent from $568 million reported in the previous month.

FX firms like Interactive Brokers, OANDA Corporation and TD Ameritrade witnessed an increase in Retail Forex Obligations during the month, whereas GAIN Capital reported a minor decline in its client’s assets.

After registering consecutive fall in market share, Interactive Brokers emerged as the best performer of the month overtaking TD Ameritrade. The market share rose by $13.7 million to $68 million, from $54 million at the end of January or 25 per cent month-on-month increase.

GAIN Capital’s client asset fell slightly by $106K to $248.2 million, which is marginal on the scale over a monthly basis. However, despite failing to gain much, the broker retained the title of largest FX broker in the United States, commanding a market share of 42 per cent.

Interactive Brokers, the largest US electronic brokerage firm, as measured by DARTs, surpassed TD Ameritrade as the US third largest holder of retail FX funds. Both the brokers have locked horns over the position number of times over recent months.

On the other hand, OANDA has also strengthened its position as the second largest by market share in the US with a total of 36 per cent share.

Broadway Technologies Acquires Baracuda FX, Retains Full Management Team

April 3, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Barracuda FX, Broadway Technology, brokerage, FX Operations, FX trading, Kieran Fitzpatrick, Retail Fx, trading technology, Tyler Moeller

Broadway Technology

Broadway Technology, the provider of forex and fixed income solutions, announced the acquisition of 100 per cent of Barracuda FX, a specialist FX order management technology company.

Through this acquisition, Broadway will continue to expand its product suite and delivering new multi-asset solutions across more part of its investment lifecycle, allowing clients to automate additional workflows. Both the company have not disclosed the terms and size of the deal.

Broadway Technology will not merge the operations of Barracuda FX into itself and will keep it as a separate and independent entity and has also retained full Barracuda FX team. It will continue to operate with its existing CEO, Kieran Fitzpatrick and COO, Maurice Curran. Both executives will also assume senior roles in Broadway Technology as Head of FX and Head of FX Operations.

Commenting on the acquisition, Tyler Moeller, the CEO of Broadway Technology said:

“Broadway is constantly thinking about what our customers need to meet new business, trading, and regulatory requirements. With this acquisition, we are continuing to invest in our ability to deliver a full- stack, multi-asset front-office platform that helps them meet these challenges.”

“This is a transformational acquisition and Broadway is excited to welcome the full Barracuda technology team. They are among the best in the industry and represent a tremendous level of institutional and industry credibility, and we are excited to work with them and deliver both of our award-winning solutions side-by-side.”

Kieran Fitzpatrick, the CEO of Barracuda FX also added:

“This is an excellent opportunity to introduce Barracuda’s award-winning technology and world-class service to a broader audience. Joining Broadway makes sense for Barracuda and for our clients, many of whom already use both firms for key components in their FX technology stack. Barracuda shares Broadway’s vision for the future of front office trading technology, and we look forward to taking leadership roles and building upon Broadway’s remarkable success.’’

With the combination of two entities, the client base of the companies includes 50% of the top global banks. Both entities will ensure the enhanced executive-level focus of FX and accelerated product roadmaps for clients.

Gaitame Reverses the January Trend, Reports Weakest Transactional Volumes Since 2017

March 12, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Brokers, Capital Markets, financial institutions, financial services, Forex, Gaitame, Japanese, Kabu, MUFJ, Retail Fx, trading platform

Japanese forex brokerage giant, Gaitame published its second monthly trading volumes data, reporting weakest transactional volumes since 2017. Despite a strong surge in trading volume in January, the brokerage house reported reversal in trend.

In February, the total number of accounts opened was 2828 accounts, bringing in total to 482,866 by the end of the month. Compared to the previous month, the increase is marginal at 0.6 per cent. In January, the brokerage opened a total 3,291 new accounts to reach 480,038 which is 0.7 per cent higher compared to the December month.

The transactional volumes during the month were ¥145.7 billion ($1.3 billion), which is 46.5 per cent lower compared to transactional volume in January at ¥272.2 billion. It is also lowest compared to more than a year from December 2017. The January’s transactional volume is 62.29 per cent more than that achieved in December 2018, and this is also the highest monthly transactional volume to be recorded since February 2016.

On yearly timeframe, the February 2019 volumes are 43 per cent lower from at ¥255.8 billion in February 2018. Although steep decline reported in transactional volume, the deposit amount managed to increase to ¥109.95 billion in February 2019, up from ¥109.5 billion in January ( a slight increase of 0.4 per cent).

Kabu Reports Slight Increase in Monthly Revenue in February

Another Japanese online securities broker, Kabu, the subsidiary of MUFJ has managed to record a slight uptick in revenue in February 2019. During the month, the revenue generated from brokerage commission came in at ¥554 million ($4.98 million), which is 20.2 per cent higher compared to the previous month from ¥461 million.

In the brokerage commission, the stock and equity trading contributed the most. The net operating revenue in the month of February 2019 came in at ¥1.269 billion, which is 3.5 per cent or ¥43 million higher compared to the previous month.

Market making, the group’s largest revenue making source also managed to post a healthy uptick of 9.1 per cent to ¥649 million from ¥595 million in January. Trading gains during the month came in at ¥69 million, up by 56.8 per cent compared to the previous month.

Brazil’s B3 Exchange Publishes Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Financial Results, Reports Strong Volume and Revenue Growth

February 22, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: B3, Brasil Bolsa Balcão S.A, brokerage, Capital Markets, Financial markets, financial services, FX rates, Retail Fx, RPC, trading platform

The Brasil Bolsa Balcão S.A, commonly known as B3 and is one of the world’s largest financial market infrastructure provider by market value has published its fourth quarter and full year 2018 financial results.

The year, 2018 marked the first full year result for B3 and has managed to achieve a strong financial performance during the period. The B3 exchange came into existence after the merger of three separate exchanges, São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa), the Brazilian Mercantile and Futures Exchange (BM&F) and CETIP. The exchange provides trading in all financial instruments including FX, stock indices, interest rates, commodities and more.

The full-year revenue for B3 is reported at R$5.352 billion ($1.42 billion) in all business segment, representing an increase of 20.6 per cent year-on-year. The BM&F segment during the period generated an average daily volume of 3.7 million contracts in 2018, a growth of 20.8 per cent compared to 2017.

The BM&F segment has the highest trading volume of contracts in Interest rate Brazilian real (BRL), with more than 1.9 million contracts, representing a rise of 2.3 per cent year-on-year. The strong volumes were mainly contributed due to the volatility and uncertainty in the market fueled by a reduction in interest rates in 2017 and the Brazilian elections in 2018.

The Interest Rates in USD contracts volume for FX Rates has been boosted by 31.6 per cent, due to the demand for hedging against exchange rate variations. The average daily volumes for FX Rates in 2018 were 690,100 contracts, an increase of 27.4 per cent from 541,800 contracts in 2017.

The revenue per contract (RPC) also managed to climb higher by 7.3 per cent year-on-year for the BM&F segment in 2018. Higher revenue realisation was mainly driven by 17.1 per cent appreciation in USD against BRL. More specifically, the average RPC for FX rates was R$3,355 ($890.50) in 2018 and RPC for interest rates in USD also grew by 18.6 per cent year-on-year.

In the fourth quarter of 2018, the average daily volume in the derivatives market (BM&F segment), came in at 3.7 million contracts, reporting a growth of 15.6 per cent compared to the final quarter of 2017. The growth in the final quarter was mainly driven by 41.7 per cent increase in the volumes of Interest rates in USD and 26.7 per cent year-on-year growth in FX rates. The trading volume for stock indices also doubled during the final quarter.

Digital Vega Adds Two Veteran Executives to Institutional FX Options Business

February 18, 2019 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Digital Vega, Financial markets, foreign exchange, Fx Option, FX trading, OTC derivatives, Retail Fx, trading platform

Digital Vega has appointed two senior appointments in order to support its expanded product development strategy for its leading FX Options e-trading platform. The firm, which will shortly add two new salespeople, has recently hired two new senior developers.

The provider of FX Options trading solutions named industry veteran and ex-Tullet Prebon executive Simon “Benny” Lewis as Head of Interdealer Solutions. “Benny” spent 20 years at Tullett Prebon, building a market leading exotic options desk from scratch, and ultimately being appointed Global Head of FX Options, until retiring in 2016.

“Transparency, regulation, and efficiency are driving the evolution of Capital Markets, and trading firms are increasingly looking to trade more of their FX options online as a result. Digital Vega has already built a strong business and reputation in the Dealer to Client market, and I am really pleased to be able to lead the new Interdealer initiative,” Simon Lewis commented on his appointment.

Digital Vega has also appointed Romain Camus as Head of Exotic Options. Camus, who spent 15 years working in foreign exchange in addition to roles in both commodities and equities, joins the company from VTB where he was Executive Director, Head of Foreign Exchange Structuring. His vast career includes roles as Structurer at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank.

“Joining Digital Vega was an obvious decision for me, as it has an innovative set of products and an impressive client list, which provides a tremendous foundation of success to build upon. Building and delivering an Exotics and Wealth Management platform will capture the growing volumes in this asset class and satisfy client demand for the increased use of electronic trading solutions,” said Romain Camus.

Mark Suter, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Digital Vega, said:

“We are very pleased to welcome Simon and Romain to our growing team. They bring extensive domain knowledge, many years of experience working in our core markets, and valuable contacts that will help to fuel our development. Digital Vega is already recognised as the leading FX platform for trading vanilla options electronically, and our aim is to build on this success by adding new clients, extending our product coverage to Exotics and Wealth Management Solutions, and launching a unique new solution for the Interdealer market.”

Digital Vega is a leading provider of OTC FX option trading tools to the Institutional FX market. Its offering includes the Medusa FX Options trading platform which has gained attention as more OTC and derivatives markets migrate to electronic trading models, driven either by regulations or client demand.

Australian Securities Exchange Releases its Preliminary Financial Results for H1FY2019, Reporting Strong Growth During the Period

February 14, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: ASX, australian securities exchange, brokerage, Brokers, Capital Markets, economy, financial results, financial stability, OTC markets, Retail Fx, trading platform

Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on Wednesday announced its preliminary financial results for the first half of fiscal 2019 on a group level. The primary security exchange of the country has witnessed some strong growth during the period, with a large uptick in market activity across all of its businesses.

In the first half of fiscal 2019, ending in December 2018, the exchange achieved revenue of AU$424.7 million ($302.3 million), which is AU$26 million or 3.8 per cent higher on a year-on-year basis. On a like-for-like accounting basis, it is up by 6.5 per cent when compared to the first half of fiscal 2018.

The solid performance was recorded across all the business segments with strong volumes in derivatives and over-the-count (OTC) markets, Astraclear and collateral management activity.

Revenue for the derivative and OTC markets increased by 6.3 per cent, and futures volume increased by 5.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis. This resulted in an increase in total revenue from trading services on the exchange by 8.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The cash market trading revenue was higher by 15.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

Commenting on the results, Dominic Stevens, ASX Managing Director and CEO, said:

“The result reflects the balanced approach we take to investing in the integrity of our core businesses and pursuing growth initiatives. It has allowed ASX to deliver another attractive return to shareholders, with our interim dividend rising 6.7% to 114.4 cents per share.”

“The key performance drivers of our businesses were a 38% increase in capital raised to $62 billion, underpinned by the demerger and listing of Coles; a greater than 5% rise in the number of futures contracts traded, particularly in SPI equity futures; an increase of more than 15% in cash market trading amid market volatility; and the continued expansion in the number and variety of financial market participants in ASX’s Australian Liquidity Centre (ALC), spurring demand for our technical and information services.”

Further, ASX is also eyeing growth from new data analytics platform that offers its clients access to data science and machine learning capabilities to solve complex problems. The platform has been made live and initially will only be applied for internal use cases before being made available to selected customers.

Stevens further added:

“The investment here will enable ASX to create analytics solutions for its customers. It will support access to data science and machine learning capabilities and offer a broad range of ASX and non-ASX datasets. The initiative will allow those who contribute data and analytics, to create in fact their own new revenue streams.”

Tokyo Financial Exchange Reports Strong Volumes in the First Month of Year 2019 with Total Volume Increasing by 17.4%

February 1, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: AUD/JPY, brokerage, Brokers, EUR-USD, financial services, FX, FX trading, Retail Fx, TFX, Tokyo Financial Exchange, trading platform

After ending the year 2018 with mixed results, Tokyo Financial Exchange (TFX) on Friday has released its January Fx volume figures, reporting strong growth in the first month of the year.

The combined trading volume of all TFX products during the month came in at 3,318,379 contracts with average daily volumes at 151,684 contracts, which is 5.5 per cent higher when measured against the December 2018 metrics and 3.8 per cent higher when compared to January of 2018.

Breaking down the total volume figures, the total trading volume for the foreign exchange daily futures contract (Click365) is 2,831,223 contracts, with an average daily trading volume of 128,693 contracts.

The total interest rate futures contract (three-month Euro-Yen) traded in January 2018 was 117,834 contracts with average daily volumes coming in at 6,202 contracts. When compared to the previous month, the total trading volume is 10.7 per cent lower from 131,931 contracts in December 2018 but is 21.5 per cent higher compared to January 2018 volumes.

The trading volumes for FX daily futures contracts jumped 17.4 per cent month-on-month, and on a yearly comparison, it is 14 per cent higher from January 2018.

The Euro/USD currency pair witnessed the biggest month on month increase of 78.8 per cent with 71,107 contracts during the month, and the AUD/JPY currency pair recorded the biggest yearly gain of 149.4 per cent.

The total trading volume in the equity index daily futures contracts (Click Kabu 365) was 369,322 contracts, with average daily trading volume figures at 16,789 contracts, which is down by 38.6 per cent on monthly comparison and 40.2 per cent lower on yearly comparison.

Senior Level Strategic Appointments at Society Financial and Offshore Broker IX Securities

January 21, 2019 by Karthik Subramanian Leave a Comment Filed Under: Industry News Tagged: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Brokers, Capital Markets, Cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency exchange, Fixi PLC, IX Security, Perfect Money, Retail Fx, Society Financial, trading platform, Western Union

Society Financial Appoints Veteran FX Executive Tom Tragett as its New Chief Market Analyst

UK-FCA regulated agency, Society Financial has appointed veteran FX executive Tom Tragett as its new Chief Market Analyst. Mr. Tragett will help the company to augment the broker’s market information capabilities specifically in relation to clients while helping to generate a diverse blend of market reports, updates and analysis of overall company clientele.

Mr. Tragett has over three decades of experience in the FX brokerage space and in other financial services sector. He has spent a major part of his career as a currency strategist, consultant, and premier researcher. He traded FX, commodities, futures, options, and indices for own account as well as advised private and retail clients on FX trading strategies.

He has joined Society Financial from Fixi Plc in December 2018 which ceased its operation following consultation with the FCA. Earlier, he has worked with Fleet Street Publications for almost ten years and most recently he has served as the group’s editor of ‘Currency Wars Alert’ where he was advising retail customers on G10 FX trading strategies. Other companies where he held roles are ODL Securities, RZB London. In the earlier part of his career, Mr. Tragett has worked as Chief FX Trader at Asahi Bank London from 1998 to 2001, managing a small team of six traders and was also tasked with overseeing FX sales function.

Peter Karsten has been Appointed CEO of Offshore Broker IX Securities

A new FX and CFD broker called IX Securities has appointed Peter Karsten as its CEO. IX Securities is based in the Bahamas and is regulated by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas. The brokerage is registered in Nassau and is a part of the growing number of new brokerage operations that entered offshore.

The change was reflected in Mr. Karsten’s LinkedIn profile. Mr. Karsten has a deep experience of managing the FX brokerage affairs and was CEO of BDSwiss between February 2014 and November 2015. He then joined Infinox Capital as Commercial Director and London Capital Group as a Sales Consultant.

Offshore brokers mainly face the challenges of payments, and IX Security is currently managing its affairs with bank wires, 2pay4you, Western Union, Vload, Bitcoin, Fasapay and Perfect Money.

cTrader Platform to Feature Crypto on New White Label Solution

January 19, 2019 by Ricardo Esteves Leave a Comment Filed Under: Company News, Industry News Tagged: CFD brokers, crypto, cryptocurrency, cTrader Platform, forex brokerage, James Glyde, Match-Trade Technologies, Michał Karczewski, Retail Fx, spot forex, Spotware Systems, trading platform, white label

The cTrader platform will feature additional tools such as extended Client office or cryptocurrency features on the white label solution.

Spotware Systems, the creator of leading retail FX trading platform cTrader, has partnered with FX and Crypto technology provider Match-Trade Technologies to launch a new breed of turnkey White Label solutions.

Forex and Crypto trading brokers everywhere will benefit from the alignment between Spotware’s cTrader platform and Match-Trade’s complementary high-tech services and technical support in the trading realm. The trading platform for Forex and CFD brokers, which is already packed with a full range of features, will feature additional tools such as extended Client office or cryptocurrency features on the white label solution.

James Glyde, Chief Commercial Officer at Spotware Systems

Match-Trade is a California-based forex and cryptocurrency technology provider that delivers turnkey matching engine solutions to all forex market participants looking to access the retail and institutional spot forex markets. The firm targets forex providers, such as Brokers, Prime Brokers, and other Liquidity Providers who wish to enter the independent ECN and Crypto market.

Optimal for brokers looking for intelligent technology that does not require a large investment, the solution offered by the partnership between Spotware and Match-Trade will feature integrated Client Office (expanded with CRM feature) appreciated by many brokers, crypto payment gateway or ultra-fast data feeds as well as seamless integration with any Liquidity Provider.

The solution is being marketed as a high-quality service for a relatively low entry threshold, affordable even for start-up brokers. Spotware and Match-Trade will also ensure that the entire set up process will run seamlessly so that brokers can focus on business development.

James Glyde, Chief Commercial Officer at Spotware Systems, commented:

Michał Karczewski, Head of Business Operations at Match-Trade Technologies

”Spotware has been integrated with Match-Trade’s technology for years. We are pleased that they have decided to extend our cooperation and include cTrader in their product offering alongside other well-known trading platforms. We see Match-Trade as an important sales support for us because of its high-quality complementary services that further enrich our core-offering. Also, their experts provide invaluable support for clients, both in a technical and consulting capacity to help them choose the optimal solution tailored to their needs. I believe we have chosen a trusted partner who will not only provide the best experience of the cTrader platform but also support the business development of their clients, just as we do.”

Michał Karczewski, Head of Business Operations at Match-Trade Technologies, said:

“To address the needs of the clients seeking a solution designed for web access we have decided to extend our portfolio of services with the cTrader White Label solution. Spotware is a reputable company that offers proven solutions of the highest quality and the industry recognizes cTrader as one of the best trading platforms available on the market. For those who are looking to start their Forex brokerage, we have created a unique and complex trading infrastructure with optimal start-up costs.”