FXCM Pro teams up with Integral on a centrally cleared CFDs platform
FXCM’s institutional arm has joined forces with FX technology company, Integral to launch a centrally cleared platform for contracts for difference (CFDs). The initiative enables investors in the wholesale markets to benefit from significantly reduced risks in the settlement of CFDs transactions.
The alliance between FXCM Pro and Integral creates a platform that brings the benefits of prime brokerage business to the CFD market. This includes consolidated margin, account opening and netting, resulting in reduced transacting costs. This actually catches up with a major shift occurring in the market demand for SDP platforms driven by customers’ need for asset class diversification, post-trade support, research and market data.
The partnership taps into Integral’s pricing engine infrastructure to facilitate trading in standardized CFD products including major indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies. Further, it utilizes the prime brokerage services of FXCM Pro in conjunction with liquidity from market makers including Jump Trading.
Bo Bjurgert, head of business development at Jump Trading explains that traders of CFD products will realize liquidity and cost benefits without the burden of managing multiple bilateral relationships. This was made possible by enabling LPs and customers to trade directly with each other.
The partnership will also support FXCM Pro’s team in growing out a new value proposition for new and existing clients. Now, it has the complex skills required to offer centrally cleared CFDs on a regulated, electronic, low latency market.
“We are committed to upgrading the trading experiences of our clients, and our new CFD Prime service is the latest in the long line of our innovations designed to do exactly that. We’re harnessing 20 years of experience, as well as leveraging the latest advancements in technology to pave the way for a more diverse and vibrant global CFD trading community on our platform,” said Brendan Callan, CEO of FXCM Group.
Integral’s technology supplements FXCM’s existing liquidity and execution solutions, giving its clients the opportunity to connect to a wide range of service providers. It also allows clients to centralize their leveraged products to get aggregated prices and transact with liquidity providers without the need to have multiple bilateral relationships.
And in return, FXCM Pro will provide its balance sheet and post-trade infrastructure to provide clients with the margin and operational benefits of a single account.
FXCM Pro is the group’s agency trading service aimed at middle-market hedge funds and financial institutions. Leveraging billions in monthly trading volume, FXCM Pro gives clients access to global top-tier banks using their own lines of credit.
“Integral’s innovations have always been centered on providing clients with unrivalled access to credit and liquidity. Unlocking direct access to leading CFD market makers through a single credit and technology relationship is a big step forward in what has been a bilateral market, until now,” added Harpal Sandhu, Founder and CEO of Integral.
