Records Galore as FXCM Tops Retail Trading Volumes in May

Listed FX broker, FXCM, continues to keep shareholders happy as the broker announces positive trading volumes for the month of May. The broker achieved record trade volume for its retail client base reaching $390 billion for the month. This was complemented by record trading in its institutional segment, hitting $191 billion.

Retail Trading Metrics

• Retail customer trading volume (1) of $390 billion in May 2013, 7% higher than April 2013 and 28% higher than May 2012.
• Average retail customer trading volume(1) per day of $17.0 billion in May 2013, 2% higher than April 2013 and 29% higher than May 2012.
• An average of 498,089 retail client trades per day in May 2013, 0.1% lower than April 2013 and 37% higher than May 2012.
• Tradable accounts(2) of 197,506 as of May 31, 2013, an increase of 1,332 accounts, or 0.7% from April 2013, and a decrease of 6,367 accounts, or 3% from May 2012.

Institutional Trading Metrics

• Institutional customer trading volume (1) of $191 billion in May 2013, 4% higher than April 2013 and 39% higher than May 2012.
• Average institutional trading volume (1) per day of $8.3 billion in May 2013, no change from April 2013 and 39% higher than May 2012.
• An average of 39,364 institutional client trades per day in May 2013, 72% higher than April 2013 and 139% higher than May 2012.

Mixed Results

The April rally, which fooled the market with the largest drop in Gold in a single day since the 80's had a major impact on trading volumes for the month of April, where participants saw strong performance. Volumes in May are having a topsy-turvy ride with some participants, for example Japan's GMO seeing a massive increase for the month, on the other hand, Danish premier Saxo Bank witnessed a 7.6% reduction in volumes.

Dividends

The NYSE listed broker announced in a press briefing on Monday that it will begin trading ex-dividend, on June 04, 2013. Shareholders will receive cash dividends of $0.06 per share which are scheduled to be paid on July 01, 2013. Shareholders who purchased FXCM stock prior to the ex-dividend date are eligible for the cash dividend payment. The broker has consistently paid the same dividend for 10 consecutive quarters. At the current stock price of $13.87, the dividend yield is 1.73%.

The year of the snake (2013) has been a pleasant one for the worlds largest international FX broker, in its Q1 quarterly earnings the firm stated that markets were looking bullish on the back of a difficult 2012: achieving “Robust volume across all lines of business, despite only moderate pick up in volatility.”

The Deutsche Bank CVIX index, the equivalent of VIX for the FX markets, saw increased movements for the month of May ranging below 9.5, this comes on the back of continued pressure on the Yen and increased pessimism in the Australian dollar, a driving force behind trading volumes.

The only way is institutional

FXCM's institutional division is coming on strong on the back of its FXCM Pro and Lucid Markets offerings. In a comment to Forex Magnates about the technological advantages of FastMatch, Dmitri Galinov, CEO of FastMatch said: “FastMatch is using the technologies that have for a long time been prevalent in the Equities space. Traditionally these have not been available to the FX market since the Liquidity has been so widely dispersed. As further transition to electronic trading and transparency in the FX market happened, these tools can now be applied.

As a result FastMatch not only offers fantastic opportunities in offering multiple sources of unique liquidity such as retail and custodial flow but the matching engine facilitates a fill in the most efficient fashion out there and at a speed that is somewhere close to being some 10 times faster than other ECNs.”

Notes:

(1) Volume that FXCM customers traded in period translated into US dollars.

(2) An account that has sufficient funds to place a trade in accordance with FXCM trading policies.