Fazzaco Weekly Digest: IG Group Sees Departure of CFO and COO; Capital.com Suspends New Client Registration in UK; U.S Traders Transits to Futures

Last week, the UK-based brokerage firm Capital.com temporarily suspended new customer registration services for its UK entity, despite holding a valid license. Concurrently, the Berlin-based investment platform lemon.markets entered the highly competitive global financial market.

With the resurgence of the proprietary trading industry, it has once again become a much-debated topic in the industry, especially in light of recent crackdowns​ by US regulators. Prop traders are now actively seeking more reliable methods to participate in transactions in response to the evolving trading and regulatory landscape.

In the fintech sector, Brokeree Solutions has collaborated with MAP FinTech to streamline regulatory reporting processes for their clients. Additionally, CQG announced the release of its AI prediction model, catering to traders' needs.

Furthermore, the industry has witnessed the departure of senior executives from prominent companies such as IG Group, Skilling, and Advanced Markets​, which has garnered widespread attention. 

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. IG Group Sees Growth in Q3 FY24 Revenue, and Departure of CFO and COO​

IG Group, a global online trading company offering CFDs and Forex, has released today (March 14) its revenue update for the three months to 29 February 2024 (Q3 FY24), showing a stable increase on both quarterly and yearly basis.

Total revenue in this period reached £240.1 million, compared to £229.7 million in Q2 FY24 and £239.3 million in Q3 FY23. Interest income was £35.2 million, of which £19.1 million was generated in the US.

2. Capital.com Suspends New Client Registration in UK

London-based retail FX and CFDs broker Capital.com has now suspended new client registrations for its UK entity.

Users from the UK who wish to open an account with the broker will receive a message informing them of the decision to pause onboarding new clients. However, existing UK clients can still access their accounts and trade as usual.

3. CFTC Releases Report: Retail Forex Funds in US Up 2.61% in January 2024​

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has released its latest monthly report, which shows that retail forex funds in January 2024 increased by 2.61% M-o-M.

The report covers registered retail foreign exchange dealers (RFEDs) and broker-dealers operating in the US. These include CHARLES SCHWAB Futures & Forex LLC, Gain Capital Group LLC, IG US LLC, Interactive Brokers LLC, OANDA Corporation, and Trading.com Markets.

4. Brokeree Collaborates with MAP FinTech on Brokerage Regulatory Compliance

Brokeree Solutions, a turnkey solutions developer for multi-asset brokers, has joined hands with MAP FinTech, a leading and award-winning global regulatory technology provider, to simplify regulatory reporting processes for clients of both companies while improving trading efficiency.

In this partnership, Brokeree's flagship Liquidity Bridge, which offers smart liquidity aggregation, trade execution, and risk management, will be integrated with MAP's suite of regulatory reporting tools. Hence, multi-asset brokers can gain a competitive edge in today's financial markets.

5. Brokerage-as-a-Service Platform lemon.markets Goes Live​

Berlin-based brokerage-as-a-service platform lemon.markets has gone live in cooperation with Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, and Tradegate.

Having secured a license as an investment firm from German regulator BaFin in January, the startup is now ready to offer its white-label solution to FS providers and fintechs, giving them the regulatory, operative and technological infrastructure for processing securities transactions via an investment API.

6. Listen to the Article: U.S Traders Embrace Transition to Futures After Prop Firm Crisis

About a week ago, we came across this YouTuber who posted a video titled "All the Prop Firms Banned Me"? This trader, who goes by the name Paladin, spilled the beans about how he got banned by all reputable prop firms, leaving him unable to trade prop Contracts for Difference (CFDs) and prompting him to seek alternatives to salvage his trading career.

Paladin's skepticism about the future of prop firms in the U.S. is not alone. A whole bunch of U.S.-based prop traders are feeling the heat after the alleged crackdown on prop firms last month.

7. CQG Unveils New AI Trading Predictive Toolkit for Traders​

CQG, a leading global provider of high-performance technology solutions for market makers, traders, brokers, commercial hedgers and exchanges, announced Monday the introduction of a first-of-its kind artificial intelligence (AI) predictive model for traders.

The company has completed internal testing and proof-of-concept using live data on the new model, showing a high level of predictive success in anticipating futures market moves.