Morning all traders!,
As most of you aware, GFT is closed down their retail FX for good! this is the third one after Advanced Market and FX club! what you guys think about U.S. retail FX in the future? are we losing all of them in the next couple years? if so, what’s the minimum capital requirement to become an institutional client? your inputs is really helpful, thanks in advance!
Happy trading!
NVGU
:57:
Doesn’t look good - Is this all to do with the DFA ?
DFA I am sure is a major factor in this. FXCM, Oanda and the like should still be around though
Hi NVGU,
You’re not alone in asking these questions. Everyone was surprised to hear this news from GFT. Since they made their announcement on Sunday that their US operations are winding down, FXCM has received hundreds of calls, chats and emails from traders on the subject. That’s why I posted this FAQ in the Broker Aid Station.
I can’t speak for other firms, but FXCM has no intention of leaving the US retail market. The latest reports from the CFTC and the financial data we must release regularly as a publicly-traded company (NYSE:FXCM) confirm that we continue to grow in customer accounts and deposits in the US even as the industry is consolidating.
Still we can understand that for smaller brokers the strict financial requirements in the US ($20 million set aside just for the right to operate plus additional funds for open positions and customer assets) can be hard to meet. That’s why for the past several months FXCM has been pressing for the need for full financial transparency by all forex brokers.
It’s possible there are other brokers that are thinking of leaving the US. If traders had access to the financials of all forex brokers, they could easily identify who’s struggling. Then we would not be having these surprises.
Jason
I look at the shuttering of brokers as at least as much a function of competition as of regulation. As Jason notes, the forex market has consolidated some of late, making things harder on certain shops.