Fazzaco Weekly Digest: A Whirlwind Week for Prop Firms; 31 Brokers' Client Profitability in February; Executive Moves Since Jan 2024
The impact of the tightening regulations by the US regulatory authorities and the restrictions imposed by MetaQuotes, the developers of the MT4/5 trading platforms, on prop trading industry is becoming more significant. Prop firms such as FTMO, Funding Pips, MyFundedFX, Lark Funding, Instant Funding, True Forex Funds, The Funded Trader, and Swift Funding have decided to move away from using MT4/5 and are transitioning to platforms like DXTrade and cTrader to sustain their operations.
On the broker side, Fazzaco last week compiled data on the profit and loss ratio of client accounts for 31 brokers in February of this year. The results show that on average, 28.55% of client accounts were profitable, while 71.45% incurred losses.
Employee turnover remains a common occurrence in the industry. Companies that experienced executive changes last week include Valutrades, 26 Degrees, Edgewater, and CPT Markets, among others.
Here are the related details, as well as some of the most read forex, prop trading, and fintech news pieces and articles from Fazzaco over the last week.
1. Listen to the Article: A Whirlwind Week for Prop Firms
Prop trading firms have been making waves on social media last week, sparking intriguing discussions among market participants. Fazzaco, too, has covered stories that highlighted some bumps in the road for prop firms. Names like FTMO and The5ers have hit pause on their services, joining others like Funding Pips, True Forex Funds, and Eightcap in facing hurdles.
Prop trading firms primarily operate without too much regulations (go to Fazzaco's exclusive Q&A: "Voices from the Industry: Is the Rise of Prop Trading A Disruption or Opportunity?" to learn more), and that in fact poses a counterpoint to MetaQuotes, the brains behind MetaTrader platforms, as they navigate the fine line between fostering innovation and adhering to regulations.
2. FTMO and The5ers Halt Services for US Clients Amid Continuing Prop Trading Crackdown
Affected by the increased regulatory pressure and MetaQuotes's restrictive measures targeting the prop trading field, FTMO and The5ers have become the latest batch of prop trading companies to suffer setbacks in service provision.
On Friday, The5ers stated in a post on X: "Due to recent events, we have made the difficult decision to suspend onboarding new US traders. This measure will remain in effect until we have a clearer understanding of the legal implications surrounding US individuals trading for prop funds."
3. Fazzaco Reports: Client Account Profit/Loss Ratio of 31 Brokers in February 2024
Fazzaco collected the data of profit/loss ratio of client accounts from 31 brokers in February 2023. The brokers we have in this month-on-month comparison remained the same as last month.
Among the 31 brokers this month, an average of 28.55% of client accounts achieved profits, while 71.45% of client accounts suffered losses. Compared with the average data in January 2024, the winning rate of client accounts increased by 0.93%.
Prop trading firm Instant Funding announced today on a social media platform that its partner broker, ThinkMarkets, will stop providing services to U.S. clients of prop trading companies starting from February 23 (This Friday).
In a post on X, Instant Funding stated: "We want to inform our American clients of an important change in our trading platform due to a recent decision by our partner broker, ThinkMarkets.
5. Valutrades Sees Departure of CFO Liam Bonfield
Fazzaco learned that Liam Bonfield has resigned from the position of Chief Financial Officer at Valutrades Limited, a FCA regulated ECN broker. Bonfield was on this role for almost eight years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
"We would like to thank Liam for all his efforts at Valutrades. We would not have been able to have achieved everything we have done without him and wish him all the best on his future endeavours," commented Valutrades CEO Graeme Watkins.
6. A Dynamic Report of 55 Executive Moves of 46 Brokers, Fintechs & Crypto Firms Since Jan 2024
This year, we will continuously follow the executive moves of various brokers and fintech companies in the financial sector, as well as crypto firms. In the following article, we present a statistical analysis of the executive movements in the forex / crypto market from January 2024 to February 6 2024.
By filtering the Fazzaco News database, the data in this article uses a total of 48 news under the Executive Moves tag reported by Fazzaco since January 2024, involving 55 job changes across 46 companies.
7. Tools for Brokers Integrates AI Assistant in Trade Processor Liquidity Bridge
Tools for Brokers (TFB), an international technology provider for retail brokers, hedge funds, and prop trading firms, has announced the launch of an AI-powered assistant in the Trade Processor liquidity bridge.
Tools For Brokers has integrated the AI assistant into the liquidity bridge, which will help its daily users to easily navigate the product and industry terms and explore the vast range of options within the bridge. With the assistant, Trade Processor users can have their questions answered and troubleshoot market issues on the spot without having to contact technical support.
Subscribe Now
