Why Does Liquidity Differ Between “Prime of Prime’s”?
Recently at an FX conference, a developing fund manager and I crossed paths. After a few polite introductions, I quickly realized that, based on his audited returns, the new fund manager was proficient in trading the FX market. The detailed description of the fund’s fundamental and technical trading strategies was welcoming to hear. After a […]
2018: Short Cuts make Long Delays
2018 was a challenging year for retail FX brokerages with many of them being sold over the counter and others struggling to implement the new rules mandated by regulators. What we can say is that 2018 was first and foremost a year of new regulation. Legal teams have been working hard to structure businesses differently and/or adapt to the new rules. Quiet contrary […]
Regulatory Jurisdictions for Startup FX Brokerages
The FX Landscape has changed dramatically this year, mostly due to the implementation of MiFID 2 regulations, and rulings by ESMA, in Europe alongside additional government scrutiny of the Chinese FX Market and the exposure of failed profit-sharing models. As a result, we are seeing quite a few licensed FX Brokers for sale, as well […]
How to Verify Your UK FCA Broker’s License?
In a world of constantly evolving regulations, licensing and compliance is of paramount importance. Many traders and brokers read and hear about regulation everywhere, but even with all of this awareness, I still often times come across corporate clients and institutional traders who are failing to conduct counterparty due diligence. The FX world has witnessed […]
How to Get an LEI Number if You Don’t Have a LOU (Local Operating Unit) in Your Country
The global push for greater transparency in financial markets continues to gain traction with top tier regulators now requiring that all entities, engaged in trading financial markets, report their LEI (Legal Entity Identifier) number to regulatory repositories. In the European Union, this process started as of January 3rd, 2018 as per MIFID 2. In Australia, […]
Who Are the Real Beneficiaries of MIFID 2?
I’m sure there aren’t many industry peers who have managed to escape the MIFID 2 avalanche this past year and, perhaps only the frenzy surrounding crypto currencies, ICO and Bitcoin comes close to the boiling hot MIFID 2 topic in 2017. For the better half of 2017, brokers and trading firms, falling under the reach […]
MiFID 2: Are You a High Frequency Trader?
As January 3, 2018 approaches, FX industry participants are busy reading through the new financial laws of “Markets in Financial Instruments Directive” (MiFID 2) in an attempt to understand how these will affect them going forward. Originally, MiFID was created following the 2008 financial crisis in an effort to standardize the regulatory disclosures for particular […]
MiFID II Reporting – DRSPs, APAs, ARMs, CTPs
by Natallia Hunik, Global Head of Sales at Advanced Markets & Fortex, Inc. and Ron Finberg, Head of Business Development at Cappitech. MiFID II has been the focal point of many discussions in the European financial world recently. We have previously focused our attention on several of the main aspects of this upcoming regulation, such […]
MiFID II – How Many Liquidity Providers Should a Broker Have?
Best execution policy under MiFID adopts a multi-faceted approach that addresses, amongst other things, quality of execution, trading conditions extended to clients and the counterparty selection process. It also provides directions and guidelines on how best execution can be achieved. The execution policy, set forth in MiFID II rests on several main pillars and I […]
Does a “Tied Agent” Designation Equate to an “Introducing Broker (IB)” Under MiFID II?
With the deadline for MiFID II implementation fast approaching, a lot of confusion and uncertainty still exists within the FX Industry. MiFID II regulation is divided into several distinct rule sets with the legislation applying to a broad range of financial industry players, those who provide investment services, such as investment banks, portfolio managers and […]