Think social trading, think client acquisition and retention. Until recently, social trading networks have been used as a means by which brokers can generate more trading volume and increase the lifetime value of a client by engaging newcomers to the word of FX with seasoned experts.

As is often the case with such concepts, with popularity comes evolution, an example being today's launch of TradeCrowd, which integrates social networking with trading platforms with the intention of enabling traders of all levels to share knowledge, experiences and views before investing in the markets.

FCA Regulation

Popularity of a product within the financial sector often catches the attention of regulatory authorities, and a current topic of discussion among industry participants is emerging which has been a topic within the Forex Magnates Meet The Experts forum, with questions as to whether social trading and copy trading may require registration with financial regulators. TradeCrowd therefore arrives on the market with Financial Conduct Authority registration which has been facilitated under FX broker Tradenext's license, but with its own Financial Conduct Authority registration number.

According to TradeCrowd, the functionality of the new network ensures that traders can make trading decisions based on the latest news, commentary from experts and others in the TradeCrowd community. Traders can also follow and copy more professional traders.

The launch of this new social trading network could be considered somewhat timely, just one day subsequent to Twitter's inaugural appearance on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, whereby at close of business yesterday Twitter shares had a value of $44.90, giving the company a valuation of around US$31 billion, 8 years after its establishment as a private company.

Based in London, TradeCrowd plans to officially unveil its social  Trading Platform  Trading Platform In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. Read this Term at the Forex Magnates SUMMIT in London which commences on Monday, during which the firm intends to emphasize that by creating an all-in-one social trading network, traders are able to read real-time market data and immediately execute trades without changing the platform. As with other social media networks, like Facebook and Twitter, TradeCrowd has a timeline layout which gives instant updates on all activities and trades.

When choosing to follow a specific instrument, a trader’s timeline is populated with the most relevant news and market updates from TradeCrowd’s intelligence providers and community members.

Conveying Analysis To New Traders

Part of TradeCrowd's intention is to be able to provide novice traders with the ability to learn new and successful trading strategies as well as make the most of the latest market data. More experienced traders can share their thoughts and trading tactics in the  Forex  Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest trading market by volume. According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) latest survey, the Forex market now turns over in excess of $5 trillion every day, with the most exchanges occurring between the US Dollar and the Euro (EUR/USD), followed by the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY), then the US Dollar and Pound Sterling (GBP/USD). Ultimately, it is the very exchanging between currencies which causes a country’s currency to fluctuate in value in relation to another currency – this is known as the exchange rate. With regards to freely floating currencies, this is determined by supply and demand, such as imports and exports, and currency traders, such as banks and hedge funds. Emphasis on Retail Trading for ForexTrading the forex market for the purpose of financial gain was once the exclusive realm of financial institutions.But thanks to the invention of the internet and advances in financial technology from the 1990’s, almost anyone can now start trading this huge market. All one needs is a computer, an internet connection, and an account with a forex broker. Of course, before one starts to trade currencies, a certain level of knowledge and practice is essential. Once can gain some practice using demonstration accounts, i.e. place trades using demo money, before moving on to some real trading after attaining confidence. The main two fields of trading are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. Technical analysis refers to using mathematical tools and certain patterns to help decide whether to buy or sell a currency pair, and fundamental analysis refers to gauging the national and international events which may potentially affect a country’s currency value. Read this Term, indices and commodities markets.

The new social trading platform is initially partnering with Tradenext, and on that basis TradeCrowd members will automatically be given a Tradenext account to execute their trades.

Aleksandar Kudic, co-founder of TradeCrowd, emphasizes the importance of making trading simple by making a corporate statement that: “We will introduce new customers to trading and make them comfortable being a part of the TradeCrowd community and help them graduate from simple trading to more complex trading using advance tools. We are focused on providing the simplest and most elegant trading experience in a familiar social networking environment. And, as part of the TradeCrowd family traders will be able to invest with confidence on a secure platform.”

TradeCrowd’s co-founder, Stefan Pajkovic, further added: “Over the last 12 months, we have developed the platform that caters for requirements of all types of traders and provides a one stop shop for every trading enthusiast. TradeCrowd will excite them from the moment they join. The platform will constantly evolve as new features are added to make sure we continue to meet needs of members. For example, traders that have programming knowledge will be able to trade directly with TradeCrowd using our trading API.”

Jason Gibson, Head of Trading and Sales at Tradenext explained that: “Our partnership with TradeCrowd offers traders of all levels a unique opportunity to share strategies, views and expertise in real-time as well as allow them to maximise their chances of profiting from the changing markets conditions.”