Retail FX Broker Technology: Ecosystems, Disruption, and the Way Forward
Report Summary
Retail FX Broker Technology: Ecosystems, Disruption, and the Way Forward
Retail FX brokers need to spend smarter by using technology vendors to deliver key solutions sought by customers.
Boston, December 5, 2012 – A new report from Aite Group examines the technology needs of retail FX brokerage firms and identifies leading and emerging technology vendors in the space. Based on September to November 2012 qualitative surveys of and interviews with technology vendors, the report provides FX brokerage firms with insight into common technology challenges and best practice solutions; for firms looking to become white-label clients of retail FX brokers, it illustrates many of the intricacies of running a successful retail FX operation.
Through 2006, retail FX was a new industry and retail FX brokers were largely ignored by technology vendors more interested in the business of large institutional players. Today, FX brokers remain self-reliant when it comes to technology, but this self-reliance could prove a detriment in the face of an evolving marketplace and lower trading volume. Precious capital resources are being used to reinvent or support technologies that are broadly available through vendors (i.e., liquidity aggregation, trading infrastructure, front-end platform), and not enough is being spent on the basics: growing the customer base and improving retail trader engagement and profitability.
“The strategic interest of owning a particular technology’s intellectual property applies to few capabilities,” says Javier Paz, senior analyst with Aite Group and author of this report. “Firms should outsource capabilities and deploy the money saved through outsourcing to meet the demands of high-value customers.”
The report references the following FX brokerages and technology vendors: ACT Forex, Alpari, Autochartist, Barclays Capital, Boston Technologies, BT Radianz, CFH Group, CitiFX Prime, CitiFX Pro, Commerzbank, Currenex, Currensee, Cyborg Trader, Deutsche Bank, DevExperts, Dow Jones, Dukascopy, Econoday, Equinix, FC Stone, FCM360, Financial Software Systems, First Derivatives, ForexWare, FX Bridge, FX Club, FXCM, FXDD, Gain Capital, Gaitame Online, GFT, Gold-I, IBFX, IBM, Integral, Interactive Data, Interxion, J.P. Morgan, Kammas Trading, Leverate, Market Simplified, MetaQuotes, Morgan Stanley, MT4i, Need to Know News, Ninja Trader, OANDA, OneZero, Option Computers (DealHub), Oracle, Recognia, Riflexo, Savvis, Saxo Bank, Solace Systems, Spotware, StreamBase, Sucden Financial, SunGard, Tervela, Thomson Reuters (Metastock), TIBCO, TNS, tradable, Tradency, Traiana, UBS, Zecco, and ZuluTrade.
This 61-page Impact Report contains 23 figures and six tables. Clients of Aite Group’s Wealth Management service can download the report.