FXCM Becomes 20 Years Old
It has been two decades since the retail forex trading industry first came into existence. One of the first firms that pioneered the growth of this market, creating evolutionary technologies and offering user-friendly services, is FXCM. This brokerage has been through horrible and incredible moments in the market, with at one point them having to leave the United States Market. After regrouping, they have regained their status as a top exchange in global markets. November marks the corporations 20th Anniversary, which prompted Brendan Callan the Chief Executive Officer to have an interview with Markets Media.
Brendan Callan, the CEO of FXCM, has served with the company for fifteen years. He didn’t become the head of the company until 2017 when his predecessor was found of committing controversial behaviour with staff. Brendan quickly turned things around and brought FXCM back to its formidable state in US Markets. It was his innovative efforts that enabled for the brokerage to survive and thrive. Below we analyze and go over the interview with Markets Media. Brendan first stated:
“FXCM, the undisputed market share leader in the United States, and its two chief executives have been summarily booted out of the country by the CFTC and fined $7 million for good measure. The crime – deliberately deceiving its customer base, misrepresenting the nature of its backroom operations, and filing false statements with regulatory authorities. FXCM was still in recovery mode from 2015’s “Swiss Franc Debacle” when it sustained $300 million in losses, but this latest episode may be the proverbial kiss of death for the firm.”
FXCM 20 Year Recap
FXCM was one of the first brokerages operating an internet-enabled retail forex trading exchange. They were the first corporation to develop cutting-edge technology that allowed for educational guides for clientele. It was this core decision that enables hundreds of thousands to learn what forex trading was in a retail market. It didn’t take long for their products to advance from a small forex trading exchange to a fully-functional institutional platform that is used by global financial markets. Everything hasn’t been fantastic for FXCM though, as mid-way through their lifespan, the Swiss National bank terminated the Swiss France/Euro Pairing. This forced significant losses onto FXCM, meaning they had to receive a line of credit worth $300 Million to continue operating. Unfortunately, this caused the former CEO of FXCM to commit white-collar crimes. After leaving the US Markets, it would be Brendan Callan that returned FXCM to its previous heights in America. It is the talent of Callan and his team that have allowed for this brokerage to comeback from their setback’s multiple times.
Callan noted on the present and not the past by saying: “Today we are a multi-asset broker serving over one hundred thousand clients in the retail and institutional space. Our product suite includes FX, metals, oil, indices and more. We recently expanded into cryptos and are investing heavily in technology and data.”
Innovative Basket Cryptocurrencies
Brendan Callan, during the interview with Markets Media, was asked to explain why FXCM was the first exchange in America to offer cryptocurrency baskets in a secure and hassle-free manner. Callan stated: “When retail clients trade crypto CFDs with FCA-regulated brokers like FXCM, their funds are held in segregated bank accounts. There are no hassles with wallets – FXCM deals with everything to do with the back-office so the trader can concentrate on just trading cryptos. We are also subject to a pricing and execution framework governed by strict regulation.”
Market Alterations
The reporter with Markets Media didn’t letup on the questions, asking Brendan Callan how he feels the market has changed over the last two decades and what FXCM is doing to account for future changes. He noted that automation is the most significant change facing the forex market, with execution times shrinking and accessible information growing. Towards what the brokerage plans on doing, Callan noted that FXCM was one of the first to integrate this technology into their platforms. The benefit of Algo-Trading is that is benefits all clients, not just the top 10%.
Brendan Callan answered the question by stating: “The rise of algorithmic trading is a natural consequence of this and has largely been positive for the industry. A large proportion of our clients now trade via algorithms and automate their buy and sell orders, risk parameters and execution strategies. Different traders have different preferences, so we must provide a range of execution options to suit their requirements.”
FX Trading Data
The Chief Executive Officer of FXCM was asked at the end of the interview to explain the available services offered to clients. He noted that FXCM maintains multiple premier packages for small subscription fees, ranging from $5.00 to $25.00. Brendan mentioned that interested traders can use the majority of their services for free, with the premium features available to those who register with the subscription plan.
Responding to the question, Brendan Callan stated: “The excellent news is that price data in FX is free! The futures and stock exchanges charge an arm and a leg for their real-time and historical data, and if you want to trade the international markets, you have to pay for each one. You cannot build a trading algorithm without pricing data. Because we supply it for free, FX is a popular place for Algo-Traders as they don’t have to rack up thousands in data costs to start tinkering with a trading strategy.”
Tom Arran
