Excellence in quotes aggregation, latency detection with advanced risk control on the back and front ends, as well as near perfect real time reconciliation/synchronicity between the MT4 platform and back office systems are all becoming critical to broker performance, and profitability in an increasingly competitive FX marketplace. e-Forex talks to some of the leading MT4 Bridge providers to discover more about how different bridging technologies are characterised and what are the key trends in this relatively new, and specialized field.

January 13, 2010, is a date that many of us in the world of Forex regulation will not soon forget. On that day, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), after almost two years of deliberation, proposed a set of regulations that created a tsunami of outcry in the retail foreign exchange market. These long-awaited rules were a product of the 2008 Farm Bill that intended to require registration of US introducing brokers, commodity trading advisors and commodity pool operators. Instead, these 192 pages of densely-worded legislation created an international uproar due to the CFTC’s efforts to curtail leverage limits to historic lows.

360^o Consulting is a consultancy based in Limassol, Cyprus (EU), which provides a variety of consulting services to the Retail Forex / CFD /Commodity investment services sector. Costas Constantinides, Director and Chief Consultant of the firm, highlights some of the key areas where the consultancy is assisting Retail FX market participants to develop their establishments and improve their business practices.

With the passing of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA) in December 2000, the Commodities and Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) became officially responsible for regulating the retail FX market, thereby legitimizing the existence of the burgeoning retail market. Today, the retail FX market is booming with strong adoption across all major financial centers.

We review the ProTrader multi asset platform from PFSoft. ProTrader provides a complete solution for retail brokers, market makers and hedge funds. The platform supports a wide range of products and is based on the latest technology. Denis Borisovsky, CEO of PFSoft tells us more about it..

With Paul Inkster, Head of Product at Barclays Stockbrokers, Sanjay Madgavkar, Global Head of Retail FX trading at Citi and Betsy Waters, Global Head of dbFX at Deutsche Bank.

With the world’s financial markets still engulfed in the global economic crisis, the appeal of the forex market has never been greater. In addition to the major advantages of 24 hour activity and virtually limitless liquidity, forex is a market that continues to provide significant speculation opportunities while other markets are struggling to maintain stability. These advantages are apparent and thus raise the question: why aren’t more people trading forex

The appeal of online forex trading might actually get a boost from the disarray in traditional asset classes like equities and real estate. Yet a decade after the popularization of Forex trading an age-old question remains: what forex broker is right for me

In the first of his regular series of articles for e-Forex on regulatory issues in FX, Felix Shipkevich General Counsel at CMS Forex looks at recent efforts to enforce regulations in Retail FX and what holds the key to successful regulation in the future.

Retail FX is proving to be a massive draw for banks, brokers and financial institutions. These businesses are eager to benefit from the growing retail FX market, which has recently seen tremendous growth. Yet, getting into this specialist area using in-house technology and knowledge is not as easy as many first thought; the answer for many is White Labelling.

The FX market is attractive to investors because it is uncorrelated with equity markets. A managed account provides an investor with the opportunity to participate in the FX market and benefit from its high profit potential without having to trade for themselves. Accounts are also actively managed, so the investor is not invested in the market all the time. Heather McLean looks at what's involved and the key importance of trading technology in FX Managed Accounts.

Hjalmar Schröder and Hans-Jörg Sollberger discuss the opportunities that retail FX margin trading platforms offer to both hedgers and speculators and its future growth prospects.

Heather McLean explores why the rapid and exciting growth of Retail FX is dependent upon the ability to supply clients with both state-of-the-art trading technology as well as superior service provision.

Paul Ronan focuses on the technological impact associated with entering the retail FX market, and what banks should be doing to overcome the challenges involved.

The spotlight is now on the retail FX sector, which could bring new revenue streams for those banks quick enough to respond. Frances Maguire investigates

Steven Petillo evaluates the potential for the retail foreign exchange market in China and what’s shaping the electronic trading landscape in the country.

Heather Mclean talks to leading retail FX trading providers about the growing importance of providing value-added and customer relationship services to help maintain customer loyalty.

Mike Thrower examines why banks are looking to target the increasing growth in flows originating from Retail FX investors and what’s required to enable them to deliver a professional margin trading solution.

Heather McLean talks to a selection of leading Retail FX brokers about their rapidly growing marketplace and the decision of several large banks to move into this space.

Paddy Osborn analyses the pros and cons of service distribution and examines developments that will shape the future delivery of FX market data and technical analysis.

Peter Kelleher outlines the range of solutions that are required to cater for the growth of margin trading.

Heather McLean interviews industry players to see why Trading Arcades & Prop shops are growing in influence and how their trading models differ.

Daniel Darst illustrates how serious trading demands efficient, real-time integration of risk, margin and account information.

5 major online FX trading providers discuss the issues.

Shane Smith talks about the changing needs of the retail equity investor and the emerging importance of FX research in investment decisions.

With both sides of the market converging, Mark Galant looks at how all FX clients will gain equal access to superior service and technology.

The rise of FX Model Systems Trading

White Label Partnerships: Co-operation v. Competition

Demand in the retail market for online FX trading is experiencing dramatic growth. Nicholas Bang believes that banks have largely ignored the retail market leaving this niche wide open for non-bank participants.

The requirements of both the client bank and those of the end-user are crucial to consider says Jake Smith. He shows the importance of building a range of functionality, which can be split into elements within the trade cycle.

Brian Maccaba investigates where the demand for a more sophisticated range of White Labelling solutions is coming from.

James Kemp examines the mix of offers being launched from banks, product vendors and hosting and support companies.

Reputation, experience, technology, business processes and integration are all important to consider says John Ersser, who looks at the attributes of a suitable White Label (WL) partner.

With equity houses becoming aware of the potential of online FX they need to consider the best means of bring FX to their customers. Ilya Sorokin talks about White labelling with an MSP.

The debate in FX Options with respect to electronic trading platforms has focused on whether ownership of a trading platform is desirable from a broker’s perspective, and if so, whether an electronic only or a hybrid broking model is superior. Mike Binns at GFI gives us his opinion.