Tools for Brokers Promotes Petros Kalaitzis to Head of Cyprus

Tools for Brokers, a technology provider for retail brokers and hedge funds, has appointed Petros Kalaitzis as the new Head of its Cyprus Office. Kalaitzis has been serving as the firm’s Sales Manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa since October 2022.

In the new role, Kalaitzis will oversee the growth and management of Tools for Brokers’ new and existing clients and partners, the technology provider announced on Tuesday. In addition, he will focus on championing the firm’s growth in Cyprus, the firm said.

Meanwhile, Tooks for Brokers recently promoted Michael Levine as the Head of its United Kingdom office. Previously, Levine held the role of Vice President of Sales UK.

Webull Launches Smart Advisor

Commission-free trading platform, Webull announced the launch of Smart Advisor, which leverages artificial intelligence to suggest a portfolio based on a user's responses to a risk assessment. Additionally, the platform launched an updated version of its existing platform, Webull 9.0.

Smart Advisor, an in-house algorithm, will collect basic profile information, like the investor's goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon, to suggest the investment portfolio. The platform highlighted that the investments through Smart Advisor will not be locked, and investors will always have access to the funds.

Though the new platform is free to all Webull users until June end, it will charge an annualized fee of 20bps of assets under management (AUM).

"This milestone anniversary, the launch of Webull 9.0 and Smart Advisor, is not only a time for reflection on the company's accomplishments but also demonstrates that we are at the forefront of the future of retail investing," said Anthony Denier, the CEO of Webull.

Equiti Brings FXPesa to Uganda

FXPesa, the trade name of EGM Securities, a subsidiary of Equiti Group, has marked its presence in Uganda with the launch of its financial education center. Moreover, the FXPesa Academy established a physical presence in Kampala.

It was the second country for the FXPesa brand to penetrate. It already has a significant presence in Kenya and is regulated by the Capital Markets Authority in that country.

"Through FXPesa's education programs, we want to equip Ugandans to make informed financial and economic decisions that improve their income levels and drive economic growth," said Moonika Jurgenfeldt, the Commercial Director for Equiti Group in Africa.

"We plan to use our new FXPesa Academy in Kampala as an entry point into Uganda. We want to build on its success and expand to other locations in this great country to provide more Ugandans with the same opportunity."

From left to right: Samwel Kiraka, CEO of EGM Securities / FXPesa, Norbert Kiiza, Education Lead for FXPesa Academy in Uganda, Norbert Mashauri, Senior Business Development Manager for FXPesa in Uganda, James Wesonga, Business Development Manager (wearing a cap) and Ms Moonika Jurgenfelt, Commercial Director for Equiti in Africa.

Crossover Markets Partners with Hidden Road

Crossover Markets has partnered with prime brokerage Hidden Road to enable cryptocurrency trading to the latter's customers. Hidden Road clients will have access to CROSSx, Crossover's execution-only crypto electronic communication network (ECN) for spot crypto trading.

In addition, the announcement highlighted that Hidden Road is the first partner onboarded with CROSSx, which launched in March.

"In the non-fungible world of cryptocurrency platforms, Hidden Road has widened trading capacity for institutions by bringing to market fungibility," said Brandon Mulvihill, the Co-Founder and CEO of Crossover, "We believe this significant removal of operational friction from the ecosystem will materially increase trading volumes and decrease the costs of trading."

Visa Opens Poland Hub

The payments giant, Visa announced its plans on Tuesday to open a new global Technology and Product Hub in Poland, the company's first in Central and Eastern Europe. The Poland hub will house 1,500 new tech and product employees over the next few years.

"Poland's highly skilled workforce and vibrant IT sector make it an ideal location for us to recruit and collaborate with partners and businesses to develop new payment solutions," said Rajat Taneja, the President of Technology at Visa. "The next wave of our product and innovation roadmap is even more exciting as we focus on the next generation of AI, cybersecurity, and the resilience and availability of our network for all who depend on it."

ASIC Cancels Dormant Firm's License

The Australian financial services regulator, ASIC, announced the cancellation of the license of Centurion Custodian Funds Management, which already became effective on 18 January.

The cancellation came as the company did not provide financial services under the license since it was issued in May 2005. However, Centurion appealed against ASIC's decision, and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal will review it next month.

"Under the Corporations Act, ASIC may cancel an AFSL license held by a body corporate without a hearing if the body does not provide financial services covered by the license before the end of six months after the license was granted," ASIC's announcement stated.

Hong Kong Concludes Consultation on Crypto Rules

On Tuesday, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced the conclusion of its consultation around the proposed cryptocurrency regulations.

The regulator received 152 forms of written feedback from industry participants and professionals on the proposed regulations. While most respondents welcomed the proposals, some sought further clarification.

The new regulations and guidelines will come into effect on 1 June 2023.

"Hong Kong's comprehensive virtual assets regulatory framework follows the principle of 'same business, same risks, same rules' and aims to provide robust investor protection and manage key risks. This will enable the industry to develop sustainably and support innovation," said Julia Leung, the CEO at SFC.