By Gordon Platt
BEST ONLINE FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRADING SYSTEMS
BANK SYSTEM
Deutsche Bank’s Autobahn
Deutsche Bank introduced a new version of its Autobahn trading system in July 2012 that allows customers to keep track of all of their trades in a single location, regardless of whether they are executed over the telephone, on its platform or on other systems. The bank says the system will handle €1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) weekly by 2014, or roughly 20% of the global market.
The Autobahn FX 2.0 system also includes new pricing engines for currency options and forwards, as well as the first electronic trading platform for nondeliverable forwards. Together with dbGrip, a new collateralized counterparty credit risk management platform, Deutsche Bank can respond more quickly to client orders and provide more competitive pricing and margin requirements.
The new system also offers the first app-based commentary and analysis tool that alerts clients quickly to major market moves in the euro versus the dollar and the Swiss franc. The app can be customized to update clients on particular currency pairs or areas of interest.
INDEPENDENT SYSTEM
FXall
Multibank platform FXall, boasting more than 1,300 institutional clients, listed on the New York Stock Exchange in February 2012 and was acquired by Thomson Reuters in August 2012. With its wide range of trading methods, the platform enjoyed record daily average trading volume of $105 billion in September 2012.
Phil Weisberg, global head of foreign exchange at Thomson Reuters, says: “Our neutrality and independence are valued by our clients, particularly at a time when market participants want to know what type of order flow they are interacting with. We have delivered on our commitments to extend our offering and help our clients navigate the new regulatory environment.” FXall intends to become a swap execution facility.
With a presence in more than 65 countries, FXall gets more than half of its trading volume from outside the US. The platform offers FX price discovery, trade execution and pretrade and posttrade automated workflow solutions for more than 400 currency pairs. It has access to liquidity from more than 80 global banks and other large market participants. Its clients include asset managers, banks, broker-dealers, corporations, hedge funds and prime brokers.
RETAIL SYSTEM
Forex Capital Markets
Under Forex Capital Market’s “no dealing desk” system, FX trades are executed back to back with major banks and financial institutions. Multiple liquidity providers compete to provide FXCM with tight spreads. “We are looking to redefine the way traders trade, with cutting-edge technology and market expertise,” says Drew Niv, chief executive of FXCM. “Our Trading Station platform reflects the feedback and requests we get from our clients. We dedicate substantial resources to update the platform and make it a robust and industry-leading system.”
FXCM serves clients in 180 countries and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It offers trading in about 56 currency pairs, as well as contracts for differences in the UK. Recent updates include a faster MT4 platform, smaller lot sizes and trading inside the spread. Special price discounts are available to high-volume traders. Clients of FXCM are able to trade oil, gold, silver and stock indexes, along with foreign exchange.
BEST FX PROVIDERS: BEST ONLINE FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRADING SYSTEMS
