CFTC Data Shows Retail FX Deposits Shrunk 2.2% in October 2021

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has published its monthly report for October 2021, revealing a month-on-month drop of 2.2 percent in retail FX deposits compared with the $563.3 million reported in September 2021.

The report covers data for FCMs that are registered as Retail Foreign Exchange Dealers (RFEDs) and those included as broker-dealers that hold retail forex obligations in the United States, namely Gain Capital Group LLC, IG US LLC, Interactive Brokers LLC, Oanda Corporation and CHARLES SCHWAB Futures & Forex LLC.

Interactive Brokers clients' funds rose by $2.5 million, or 4.8 percent month-over-month. Elsewhere, retail deposits at CHARLES SCHWAB was virtually unchanged from the month prior, coming in at $61.8 million. Gain Capital was the big loser, having lost $8.4 million of retail assets in October 2021. IG US and OANDA lost $1.3 million and $4.6 million of retail assets in October 2021.

The chart listed below summarizes all the data published this year. For purposes of comparison, the month-on-month change of the recent months has been outlined to illustrate the disparities.

Looking at the market share of different brokers, distribution unchanged in October relative to the month prior. GAIN Capital remained the leader in terms of market share, commanding a 37 percent share. OANDA also solidified its stance as the second largest in the US with 35 percent market share, while CHARLES SCHWAB retained the third rank with 11 percent. Interactive Brokers and IG US acquired 10 and 7 percent share respectively.