FXTM and Alpari staff changes and a new shareholder

The founder of Alpari and FXTM companies and one of the main figures in the FX industry, Andrey Dashin, has revealed the changes that will refer to the both brands. He announced that the CEO of the FXTM, Olga Rybalkina, will become a minority shareholder of both Alpari and FXTM companies.

Ms. Rybalkina has an extensive experience in the FX industry and started her career in 1998. Before becoming a CEO to FXTM, she was a leading executive of Alpari. She will be leaving her current position as a CEO due to the restructuring of the staff. Alpari company will also have some changes in its head office. A former advisor of Andrey Dashin, Vladimir Verbitskiy, will be succeeding the CEO role in Alpari company.

These personnel changes will help to solidify the long-term venues and support the development of both Alpari and FXTM. Ms. Rybalkina together with Mr. Dashin will be maintaining the strategies and future plans of these global brands.

In his comments about these current changes, Mr. Dashin stated that both brands and very promising and strong. During 2017 they added new licenses and brought new products to the investors, showing good metrics in general throughout the year. Also Alpari reported about the record trading turnover of around 1.3 trillion USD.

Mr. Dashin also noted that in comparison to the previous year the client base of FXTM has increased by 77% and the client balance has grown twice. Also the trading turnover of the company grew by 38%. He added that these changes were implemented to strengthen the brands and bring them to new horizons.

Exinity Group receives CMA license from Kenya

Exinity Group has announced that it has obtained a license from Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to operate as a regulated non-dealing forex broker. The Group joins just three other brokers who are regulated to offer trading services including forex to retail clients in Kenya.

This new license is the latest addition to Exinity Group’s regulatory portfolio in the Africa region, joining licenses from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa and the Financial Services Commission of the Republic of Mauritius.

Commenting on receiving the CMA license, Olga Rybalkina, CEO of Exinity Group said: “Kenya is one of the most exciting emerging markets in Africa, where enthusiasm for trading and investing is at an all-time high. It is renowned for being one of the fastest-growing economies with an innovative regulator such as the CMA. Acquiring the coveted license fills us with confidence and great anticipation for our future in this dynamic region”.  

“In the coming months we will be launching innovative risk-based trading and investing solutions designed to help ambitious individuals capture opportunity in the financial markets”.

Newly-appointed Country Manager of Exinity Capital East Africa, Duncan Kinuthia, added: “Exinity’s services will combine low cost access to global financial markets with insight and coaching from market experts and personal support, all accessible through an innovative mobile app designed for those new to trading or investing”. 

“More experienced and demanding traders will be served by an unrivalled offering on the MetaTrader platform with spreads from zero and commissions of just $0.20 per lot”.

“We are in the process of setting up our new East Africa hub in Nairobi and look forward to welcoming new clients in 2021”.

About Duncan Kinuthia

With over 17 years of experience in the financial services industry after working with some of the largest commercial banks in Kenya, Duncan has an avid interest in the fast-moving financial market after having traded for commercial banks as well as raising equity for SMEs in Kenya. Duncan is a firm believer of "Change is the only constant in life", he enjoys taking up new challenges in the financial market space and help businesses reach their full potential.

About Exinity Group

Exinity Group is a new global wealth engine backed by over 20 years of experience in trading and investment. The Group is home to its various retail businesses including Alpari International, ForexTime (FXTM) and new retail offering under the same name, Exinity. Our story goes back to the first days of online Forex trading with the founding of the Alpari Group in 1998. A pioneer of the MetaTrader platform, Alpari expanded rapidly in the world’s emerging markets and was joined in 2011 by our sister brand, FXTM. Together, both brands have established a strong global presence in online trading, serving over two million clients in 180 countries from regulated centres across three continents. Exinity, our new wealth engine solution sits alongside our established forex trading brands and AcruPay, our new money transfer and payments service.

FBS Announces New Trading Instruments in FBS Trader app

FBS introduces new trading instruments for European clients. The company understands the needs of its clients and enlarges the range of trading instruments in an all-in-one trading platform app to make trading more convenient and relaxed. 

From now on, European traders can enjoy updated lists of indices and energies, in case they have Real or Demo accounts. The following instruments are now available in FBS Trader - Reliable Forex Trading Platform app:

  • Indices: DAX30, NASDAQ, S&P500, YM, 
  • Energies: WTI, BRN

These instruments are popular among traders because of their high volatility. Oil especially shows an impressive presence in the market. This sector demonstrated the highest standard deviation. As for DAX30, NASDAQ, S&P500, YM, this group includes all major stock indices from leading global economies. It tends to be a good indicator of the overall market performance. 

European clients may evaluate new opportunities for trading with the powerful and easy-to-use trading platform – FBS Trader. This brokerage app allows trading on the go from mobile devices using handy Forex tools from anywhere, any time. Moreover, it helps traders to track real-time statistics using price charts and never miss the right moment to open or close a trade. Now with the updated list of trading instruments, FBS Trader becomes even better. 

FBS is an acknowledged, CySEC licensed international online Forex broker and the official trading partner of FC Barcelona. FBS is a broker with an international outlook that serves clients in Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the MENA. Its primary focus lies in offering financial products for currency, metals, and indexes trading for clients with different goals and backgrounds. The company features a low barrier to entry and top-ranking apps. Over 11 years in the field, the broker won 50 international awards, including Best International Forex Broker, Best Forex Brand, and Most Progressive Forex Broker Europe.

BDSwiss received the Best Mobile Trading Platform Europe 2021 Award

The leading Forex and CFD investment services institution BDSwiss has recently received the prestigious Global Banking & Finance Awards® Best Mobile Trading Platform Europe 2021 award. The company was awarded for its in-house developed mobile trading app which offers easy access to more than 250 instruments from 6 asset classes to online traders. 

BDSwiss is well-known for its world-leading platforms, competitive services, and swift market order execution and award-winning conditions since the very start 9 years ago. The broker provides access to the market through MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, the BDSwiss WebTrader and the BDSwiss Mobile Trading app.

Global Banking & Finance Awards® found the interface of the BDSwiss Mobile Trading app to be incredibly user-friendly.  They also praised how intuitive the app is, with the buy/sell functionality being straightforward for clients to use on the go, while offering access to the same tools available on the BDSwiss desktop client, fully in sync with MetaTrader platforms. 

“2021 has been a banner year for BDSwiss thanks to the company’s incredible services,” Wanda Rich, Editor of Global Banking & Finance, said. “BDSwiss offers a wealth of mobile trading tools on its platform making it the go-to financial app in Europe. There is a lot to love about the mobile trading app and BDSwiss’s large client-base is proof of just how good the platform is.”

Christos Alatzidis, Group CIO & CTO (Chief Information and Technology Officer) at BDSwiss, commented on the announcement of the award, saying “We are delighted to receive this prestigious award as recognition of our ongoing efforts in creating a trading app with today’s traders’ needs in mind. From the beginning, we wanted to create a streamlined, hassle-free mobile user experience. This is why we focused on a highly intuitive design that allows traders to trade ‘on-the-go’ with many useful features and additional tools available to facilitate mobile trading. We take pride in our in-house iOS/Android development team and we remain committed to always keeping our mobile trading app updated with the latest financial technology innovations.”

BDSwiss is a leading financial group of companies, offering Forex and CFD investment services to more than 1.5 million clients worldwide. Since its inception back in 2012, BDSwiss has been providing top-class products, a wide range of platforms, competitive pricing and fast execution on more than 1000 underlying CFD instruments. BDSwiss Group complies with a strict regulatory framework and operates its services on a global scale under different entities. With over 250 personnel, BDSwiss Group maintains operating offices in Europe and Asia.

The Global Banking and Finance Awards® were established to recognize businesses of all sizes that succeed at high levels in specific areas of the financial industry. The website and magazine’s prestigious awards are well-known throughout the global banking and financial sectors. The awards reflect innovation, achievement, strategy, progressive, and inspirational changes that take place within the sectors. The awards have evolved over the years and grown to include businesses in a variety of areas.

For more information on BDSwiss, please visit the company’s official website. To download the BDSwiss mobile app, please visit the app’s official page.

Pepperstone acquires CySEC license

Pepperstone review

Award-winning online CFD broker Pepperstone goes from strength to strength with its official launch of commercial operations in Cyprus under its CySec license, securing certainty for European clients ahead of Brexit.

Pepperstone is built on an uncompromising level of service for all its clients, underpinned by some of the best prices and execution speeds in the industry.

Find out more about Pepperstone’s competitive pricing across indices, forex, gold, share CFDs and more at https://pepperstone.com/en-eu/

Victor Zachariades, Head of Cyprus at Pepperstone, confirmed that the broker has now officially been granted its Cypriot licence, a move to not only secure the company’s Brexit planning, but to also drive the company’s planned expansion in Europe.

“We’re now pleased to be officially operational under our Cypriot license.” said Victor Zachariades. “Our European operations ensure we’re well-placed to deliver our global commitment to our clients while providing products and services people can trust.”

Tamas Szabo, Group CEO of Pepperstone, added “This year marks the 10th anniversary of Pepperstone and we are excited to celebrate it with the achievement of our new Cyprus license.”

As one of the largest MetaTrader brokers in the world and one of the most awarded for its exceptional personal attention to clients globally, Pepperstone is uniquely positioned for its growth targets in major financial hubs around the world.

Pepperstone was first established in 2010 in Australia, where it has received multiple awards from the notable Investment Trends for customer service, spreads and support. In 2019, Pepperstone was rated number one for overall client satisfaction and platform features, including ease of withdrawal, ease of platform use and more.

Disruptive and agile, the financial technology company has more than doubled in size over the past two years. The broker shows no signs of slowing, with a laser focus on continuing to deliver the best quality pricing, speed and service to experienced traders.

“It’s been a huge year for the business. We’ve launched a number of offices in multiple jurisdictions. This growth is testament to our agility, ambition and dedication to delivering what our clients need and want.” said Tamas Szabo, Group CEO of Pepperstone.

About Pepperstone

Pepperstone is an award-winning online CFD broker regulated in multiple jurisdictions around the world and trusted by thousands. Trade CFDs on forex, indices, commodities and more with great prices, execution speeds and exceptional client support . Pepperstone is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec), The Capital Markets Authority of Kenya (CMA) and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB).

FP Markets annouced the launch of a new IB portal

FPM logo

FP Markets, an ASIC-regulated global CFD and forex broker founded in 2005, is further strengthening its online offering by launching a new dedicated Introducing Broker (IB) portal. The customized portal was designed as a multi-level platform for individual IBs and Master IBs.

The company has always been committed to transparency, so they has ensured that the redesigned portal will allow IBs to review daily transactions, deposits, volumes and discounts from direct clients or sub-IB customers. 

FP Markets has recognized the importance of giving IBs clear control and command of their multiple discount accounts from multiple trading platforms. In response to this need, the new IB portal allows IBs to initiate funds transfer from debit accounts to their trading accounts with just one click. 

FP Markets has introduced an easy-to-navigate online registration process that allows IBs to use their mobile phones for additional security and identity verification. Account management then takes place exclusively on the dedicated IB portal. Service delivery is responsive and IB accounts are immediately opened through a dedicated partner / IM support desk that activates accounts with minimal interaction. 

The Head of EMEA at FP Markets, Mr. Craig Allison, commented on the launch:

"We are delighted to be launching our dedicated IB portal which comes after years of research and development.  Our aim has been to implement a transparent and easy-to-use portal which enhances the online experience and reward system for our IB clients, who are a hugely valuable part of our business. We evaluated the IBs’ journey, from start to finish, and mapped out an online solution which we believe allows IBs to easily stay up-to-date with cash activity from commissions secured as well as the real-time balance on their multiple rebate accounts from our varied trading platforms. We are now in our 15th year at FP Markets and we pride ourselves on the continual evolution of our online offering as well as our commitment to investing heavily in providing advanced technology to traders, which we believe unrivalled in the marketplace."

You can read more about FP Markets in our full review.

Short-term US Yields Rise To New Cycle Highs

The new year started in a bearish regime for US bonds, pushing the two-year yield above 0.8% for the first time since March 2020. 

Additionally, the 10-year US yield rose sharply and jumped above 1.6%, while the 30-year yield sky rocketed above the 2% threshold. Falling bond prices and soaring yields sent the USD strongly higher - the EURUSD pair dropped below the 1.13 threshold, pushing the DXY index above 96 again.

At the same time, precious metals fell sharply, with silver plunging nearly 2% below 23 USD and gold cratered 1.5% back to 1,800 USD.

Investors expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to raise rates in March, with two additional rate hikes anticipated in 2022. Furthermore, the Quantitative Easing (QE) program will end by the summer of 2022. 

In other news, Markit's US Manufacturing survey printed 57.7 for its final December 2021 level, slightly below the flash level of 57.8 and at its weakest since Dec 2020. 

"While shortages remained significant, the end of the year brought with it some signs that cost pressures have eased. The uptick in input prices was the slowest for six months, and firms recorded softer increases in selling prices amid efforts to entice customer spending." said, Senior Economist at IHS Markit, Siân Jones.

The US labor market data for December will be released on Friday this week. The US economy is expected to have created 410,000 new jobs, nearly double the 210,000 in November. As a result, the unemployment rate is forecast to improve a notch to 4.1%.

An improving labor market might cause another wave of selling bond markets, increasing their yields. 

The theme for the next months is clear - tightening monetary policy in the US, likely leading to higher yields in the bond markets, possibly causing stress in other asset classes, such as stocks or precious metals.

HotForex offers CFD Trading on 900+ DMA Stocks

Multi-asset international broker HotForex provides an opportunity for its traders to expand their portfolio by trading CFDs on more than 900 DMA stocks – meaning they can place their trades directly into the order books of major stock exchanges.  

Direct Market Access (DMA) is a way of placing trades directly onto the order books of global stock exchanges for execution, offering traders the opportunity to access the same liquidity as the underlying market. 

Why trade DMA Stocks? 

  • Greater visibility and flexibility
  • Direct market live pricing
  • Participation in the market of the underlying stock
  • Interaction with the live order books of global stock exchanges
  • Your orders will be reflected on the underlying market

Hotforex offers CFD trading across all major asset classes, with DMA Stocks being the latest addition to its list of over 1000 trading instruments. The newly added products come with excellent trading conditions which include amongst others:

  • Trading on the powerful MT5 platform 
  • Funds security with negative balance protection
  • Risk management with limit and stop orders 
  • On the go trading with the award-winning HF App

To learn more about HotForex and DMA Stocks, please visit our website here.

Eightcap Became the Largest Cryptocurrency Offering for Retail Clients

Australia-based, award-winning CFD broker Eightcap, has launched over 250 Cryptocurrency derivatives. This update allows its clients to diversify their crypto portfolio via the MT4 and MT5 platforms. The addition of this new positions makes the broker the largest one within the CFD sector. 

Eightcap has decided to step in in the current situation with crypto exchanges where the withdrawal limits are being reduced due to regulatory issues. Not only will clients be able to buy or sell a wide range of Cryptocurrency CFDs, including crypto-crosses and crypto indices, but its clients will also have multiple funding options and be able to make quick withdrawals. 

“Our vision at Eightcap is to provide a new home for Crypto derivative traders by providing an unparalleled offering that includes the largest crypto derivative library paired with ultra-low spreads and fast withdrawal options,” said Joel Murphy, CEO, Eightcap. “The regulatory issues crypto exchanges such as Binance are facing means traders are left with unnecessary worries about their funds and if they can withdraw them. With us, Crypto derivative traders can have a seamless experience from the moment they open an account to when they want to withdraw their funds.” 

Marcus Fetherston, Director of Operations at Eightcap added, “The Eightcap offering focuses solely on creating regulated leveraged derivative trading opportunities for Cryptocurrency traders, that offers more security than traditional offshore exchange platforms. We are thrilled to provide a solution that meets the needs of crypto derivative traders so that they can gain the best possible trading experience.” 

Crypto derivative traders that are currently with other Crypto exchanges and brokers have access to a limited range of Crypto derivatives with wide spreads. When switching to Eightcap, Crypto derivative traders will be able to choose from the largest Cryptocurrency offering, experience tight spreads, and also deposit and withdraw with ease, with a regulated broker. 

To find out more about Eightcap’s comprehensive new offering, click here.