Interactive Brokers’ Retail FX Deposits Grow 20pct in November

Retail FX deposits at US brokerages, including FCMs that are registered as Retail Foreign Exchange Dealers (RFEDs) and broker-dealers, rose in November by $1.8 million, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed today.

Specifically, the FX funds held at the US-based brokers came in at $582.3 million in November 2020, which is slightly higher compared with $580.5 million reported in the prior month.

Before we go any further, let us point out that the retail FX deposits in the United States has shrunk by more than 10 percent year over year, allowing fewer brokers to improve their metrics as far as fundamentals go.

Three of the five FX firms reported a decline in its clients’ assets in November 2020. GAIN Capital was the worst performer, having lost $5.2 million in retail traders’ funds, to $217.8 million, which is down 2 percent over a monthly basis. However, the largest FX broker in the United States remained the leader in terms of market share, commanding a 37 percent share.

Compared to a year earlier, GAIN Capital saw a decrease of nearly $29 million or 12 percent.

The list of firms that registered a monthly drop in Retail Forex Obligations includes OANDA Corporation and TD AMERITRADE.

After consecutive drops in its market share, the best performer for the month was Interactive Brokers which saw an overall rise of $11.8 million to $71.4 million. That compares to only $59 million at the end of October, or an increase by 20 percent month-over-month.

As such, the Connecticut-based company has moved past TD Ameritrade in the rankings as the company managed to score a rebound, paring all losses incurred over the past few months. The largest US electronic brokerage firm, as measured by DARTs, overtook TD Ameritrade as the US third-largest holder of retail FX funds —something that has happened a number of times over recent months as both companies duke it out for dominance.

Moreover, OANDA solidified its stance as the second-largest electronic brokerage firm in the US with 33 percent.

The chart listed below outlines the full list of all FCMs that held Retail Forex Obligations in the month ending on November 30, 2020. For purposes of comparison, the figures have been included against their October 2020 counterparts to illustrate disparities.