CFI Gets FCA Status, Cash In On Stock Trading: Editor's Pick

by David Kimberley
  • We take a look back at last week's most interesting stories
CFI Gets FCA Status, Cash In On Stock Trading: Editor's Pick
FM

With summer drawing to a close and the short, dark days of autumn beginning to emerge, some of our readers may be feeling a little gloomy.

Fear not, however, for Finance Magnates will still be here to bring you the finest stories the retail trading industry has to offer.

Read on to see the best of last week’s coverage!

Cashing in on the commission-free craze

Unless you’ve been out on a month-long boozer or don’t ever read the news, you’re probably aware that commission-free trading is fast becoming a ‘thing.’

In the US, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and others have begun offering it. Across the Atlantic, Revolut and BUX are also trying to get young hipsters to start trading in stocks.

One of the companies behind this trend is DriveWealth. Based in New Jersey, DriveWealth is the sort of company that millions of people use, but no one has ever heard of.

That’s because they provide the full range of products that allow other companies to offer their clients trading in US stocks.

Last week, Finance Magnates was fortunate enough to speak to Mark Smedley, the company’s head of partnerships, about what DriveWealth does and how CFD providers can make money from commission-free trading.

What are you waiting for? Go read the interview now!

TRADE.com launches spread betting

Having opened offices in Spain and Germany in the past few months, TRADE.com has now added spread betting to its range of products.

Users will be able to bet on market outcomes for more than 2,100 instruments - exciting stuff!

The broker will be providing the service to clients in Ireland and the UK from its FCA-regulated, London-based entity.

This isn’t the end, either. In an exclusive statement to Finance Magnates last week, the company also revealed plans for a partnership with Interactive Brokers, portfolio analysis tools, and asset management solutions.

CFI goes all out in the UK

Lebanese retail broker CFI has historically focused most of its efforts on the Middle East. With their Phoenician roots, who can blame them?

But now the company is going to be taking on the UK market properly. Though it previously had a branch in London, the broker has now set up a fully-regulated subsidiary in the British capital.

The company now has licenses in Cyprus, the UK, Mauritius, the UAE, Jordan, and the country of Fairuz and Nancy Ajram - Lebanon. Mabrouk!

The ETF ride that never ends

Like ‘decentralization,’ ‘adoption,’ and ‘Libra,' the Bitcoin ETF is the cryptocurrency story that never dies. We want the SEC to just approve one already so we can stop reporting on it.

In the meantime, we will have to keep writing about the damn thing. And this week, Rachel McIntosh took a look at whether, under current SEC chairman Jay Clayton, we will ever see a Bitcoin ETF.

All evidence would seem to point to no, but, as Stuart Townend has sung on many an occasion, there is hope.

Crypto-in-a-box

Two weeks ago, CFH Clearing founder and ex-CEO Lars Holst told Finance Magnates that he would be launching a new company - GCEX.

Shortly after that, we caught up with him to see what his new company is all about.

Over the course of our short discussion, we talked about connecting companies to crypto, the range of technology solutions his new firm is offering, and doing business with hedge funds and asset managers.

Telegram stumped by regulators

Messaging application Telegram has been trying to launch its own cryptocurrency for close to a year now.

In the first quarter of this year, the company managed to raise an eye-watering $1.7 billion through an initial-coin-offering.

The cryptocurrency was set to drop at the end of October, but now, thanks to the SEC, things have been held up.

Last week, the US regulator obtained a restraining order against Telegram, saying that it had not properly registered its token offering.

As a result, the company has asked its investors for more time before the token goes live.

AFX fails to pay

Retail broker and self-described prime of prime AFX has been in serious trouble over the past two years.

In July of this year, the company had its CySEC license suspended. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority did the same shortly afterward.

Now the broker has failed to make a $230,000 settlement payment to Gallant Capital Markets, an American FX broker, in a case that has been going on for more than two years.

Beeks CEO sells off £2.2 million in shares

Based on the outskirts of Glasgow, Beeks Financial Cloud has been moving from strength to strength since its founding in 2010.

The company now has close to 250 institutional clients, each paying an average of £2,200 a month to use the technology firm’s services.

Capitalizing on the company’s success, CEO Gordon McArthur announced plans last week to sell off shares worth in excess of £2.2 million. Kudos to him and the whole Beeks team.

With summer drawing to a close and the short, dark days of autumn beginning to emerge, some of our readers may be feeling a little gloomy.

Fear not, however, for Finance Magnates will still be here to bring you the finest stories the retail trading industry has to offer.

Read on to see the best of last week’s coverage!

Cashing in on the commission-free craze

Unless you’ve been out on a month-long boozer or don’t ever read the news, you’re probably aware that commission-free trading is fast becoming a ‘thing.’

In the US, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and others have begun offering it. Across the Atlantic, Revolut and BUX are also trying to get young hipsters to start trading in stocks.

One of the companies behind this trend is DriveWealth. Based in New Jersey, DriveWealth is the sort of company that millions of people use, but no one has ever heard of.

That’s because they provide the full range of products that allow other companies to offer their clients trading in US stocks.

Last week, Finance Magnates was fortunate enough to speak to Mark Smedley, the company’s head of partnerships, about what DriveWealth does and how CFD providers can make money from commission-free trading.

What are you waiting for? Go read the interview now!

TRADE.com launches spread betting

Having opened offices in Spain and Germany in the past few months, TRADE.com has now added spread betting to its range of products.

Users will be able to bet on market outcomes for more than 2,100 instruments - exciting stuff!

The broker will be providing the service to clients in Ireland and the UK from its FCA-regulated, London-based entity.

This isn’t the end, either. In an exclusive statement to Finance Magnates last week, the company also revealed plans for a partnership with Interactive Brokers, portfolio analysis tools, and asset management solutions.

CFI goes all out in the UK

Lebanese retail broker CFI has historically focused most of its efforts on the Middle East. With their Phoenician roots, who can blame them?

But now the company is going to be taking on the UK market properly. Though it previously had a branch in London, the broker has now set up a fully-regulated subsidiary in the British capital.

The company now has licenses in Cyprus, the UK, Mauritius, the UAE, Jordan, and the country of Fairuz and Nancy Ajram - Lebanon. Mabrouk!

The ETF ride that never ends

Like ‘decentralization,’ ‘adoption,’ and ‘Libra,' the Bitcoin ETF is the cryptocurrency story that never dies. We want the SEC to just approve one already so we can stop reporting on it.

In the meantime, we will have to keep writing about the damn thing. And this week, Rachel McIntosh took a look at whether, under current SEC chairman Jay Clayton, we will ever see a Bitcoin ETF.

All evidence would seem to point to no, but, as Stuart Townend has sung on many an occasion, there is hope.

Crypto-in-a-box

Two weeks ago, CFH Clearing founder and ex-CEO Lars Holst told Finance Magnates that he would be launching a new company - GCEX.

Shortly after that, we caught up with him to see what his new company is all about.

Over the course of our short discussion, we talked about connecting companies to crypto, the range of technology solutions his new firm is offering, and doing business with hedge funds and asset managers.

Telegram stumped by regulators

Messaging application Telegram has been trying to launch its own cryptocurrency for close to a year now.

In the first quarter of this year, the company managed to raise an eye-watering $1.7 billion through an initial-coin-offering.

The cryptocurrency was set to drop at the end of October, but now, thanks to the SEC, things have been held up.

Last week, the US regulator obtained a restraining order against Telegram, saying that it had not properly registered its token offering.

As a result, the company has asked its investors for more time before the token goes live.

AFX fails to pay

Retail broker and self-described prime of prime AFX has been in serious trouble over the past two years.

In July of this year, the company had its CySEC license suspended. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority did the same shortly afterward.

Now the broker has failed to make a $230,000 settlement payment to Gallant Capital Markets, an American FX broker, in a case that has been going on for more than two years.

Beeks CEO sells off £2.2 million in shares

Based on the outskirts of Glasgow, Beeks Financial Cloud has been moving from strength to strength since its founding in 2010.

The company now has close to 250 institutional clients, each paying an average of £2,200 a month to use the technology firm’s services.

Capitalizing on the company’s success, CEO Gordon McArthur announced plans last week to sell off shares worth in excess of £2.2 million. Kudos to him and the whole Beeks team.

About the Author: David Kimberley
David Kimberley
  • 1226 Articles
  • 19 Followers
About the Author: David Kimberley
  • 1226 Articles
  • 19 Followers

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