Which forex brokers have the most clients accounts?
Does any one know? if so, please reply with credible sources so I can check.
So far I only found one link:
Exclusive: InteractiveBrokers Customers Most Profitable in Q3 2014 US Forex Profitability Report
According to that link above the following data were available:
FXCM - 26,617 accounts
Oanda - 21,139 accounts
Interactive Brokers - 26,416 accounts
Gain Capital - 10,796 accounts
Hi Cryptocurrency,
The account numbers you quoted above are those reported by US brokers to the US regulators. However, they only include the account numbers of FXCM’s US-regulated entity.
That’s significant, because FXCM is one of the only retail forex brokers in the world regulated on four continents. For example, the numbers above don’t include accounts under our UK or Australian entities through which most of our clients living outside the US trade.
As publicly-traded company (NYSE ticker: FXCM) we publish our account figures and financials on a regular basis unlike most other forex brokers which are privately-held.
As of the latest quarterly results for July 31, 2015, FXCM has 178,577 active retail accounts, an increase of 2,272 or 1%, from June 2015, and an increase of 27,295 or 18%, from July 2014.
On another note, in regards to client profitability percentages mentioned in the article you referenced, it’s important to note that the average account at different brokers is not the same (in terms of account balance, leverage used and level of trading experience). The main reason IB has a higher % Profit than other brokers is because their minimum account balance is $10,000. By contrast, FXCM’s minimum account balance is only $50.
What the table in that article is really showing is how the leverage you use and the amount of capital in your trading account can affect your profitability. I’ve mentioned this numerous times in earlier discussions about leverage with data compiled by DailyFX research from over 10,000 FXCM client accounts: “Traders with at least $5,000 of capital tend to use more conservative amounts of leverage. Traders should look to use an effective leverage of 10-to-1 or less.” The same study showed that FXCM client accounts with a balance of $10,000 or more had a profitability rate of 44.09% which is right in line with the two brokers in that table that have a 10k minimum for all their accounts.
In addition to our low account minimums, we provide extensive customer support and educational resources that make us a popular choice for new traders. That’s one of the reasons FXCM’s client base continues to grow as shown by our latest quarterly results. It does mean however that while we have many experienced traders as clients, the average experience level our client base can be lower than at other brokers that do not offer as much help to beginners. This would also have an impact on % Profit numbers.