Australia is one of the top markets when it comes to retail forex and CFDs trading. It has been home to several big retail broker brands, Vantage being one of them. Additionally, the market has been transformed over the past few years due to several factors, be it local regulations or the pandemic.
Finance Magnates recently sat down with Daniel Lee, the Regional Sales Manager for Vantage in Australia, to better understand the Australian trading market. We touched on many topics including the changing Aussie regulations and also the impact of the pandemic.
1. Australia has become an important FX/CFDs market. How did the industry change over the years?
Australia has always been an opportunistic region and a country that has a high pool of early adopters. With the FX and CFD markets still being relatively young, it’s been extraordinary to see so many new traders enter this very liquid space in the last two years.
Vantage Australia has seen and felt this surge of new traders, and it’s been extremely humbling for us as a broker to cater to all our clients through this evolving landscape. Supporting our clients from all levels of experience with the ability to trade FX pairs from 0.0 spreads on our RAW account, and the ability to trade from not just MT4/MT5, but also CHARTS by TradingView.
The FX and CFD markets have truly cemented themselves as an approachable market that can be tapped into by traders of all expertise.
2. How ASIC's changing regulatory requirements in the retail space have changed the industry? And what was its impact on Vantage?
It is no question that ASIC’s Product Intervention Order, and the corresponding changes in leverage limits, have transformed the Australian landscape for CFD and forex trading. That said, our clients have continued to trade with Vantage across our most popular CFD products.
We’ve noted that our clients tend to be more considerate when it comes to CFD and forex trading. They value education more than before, are more inclined to use tools in their trades and pay close attention to news and market updates.
This is why we emphasize providing a holistic trading environment for our clients, with a suite of easy-to-navigate risk management tools, complimentary access to daily market updates, trade ideas and a Trading School.
3. We all have seen a retail influx in the trading markets during the Covid-19 volatility. What is the short and long impact of that?
The continued volatility has attracted a new generation of investors and traders that look to capitalize on shorter-term movements; but not only on uptrends, but also when the markets are running red.
Consequently, some of our newer entrants are not as familiar with derivative trading and are naturally finding themselves having to re-analyze their risk management. Vantage at the forefront of supporting our client’s values education and risk management above all. Offering 24-hour client support, to hosting a range of educational materials such as near-daily market updates and trade ideas.
And as the market matures, so will the clients. Vantage has already found that our traders are more proactive with their trading behaviour and education.
4. What, according to you, will become the prominent FX industry trend this year?
Together with the surge in account growth, Vantage has also noticed a rapid growth in trading volume across both our new and existing clients. With many traders wanting the ability to trade for even cheaper, and to have exposure to the markets during the weekends.
As such, Vantage has pioneered trading FX and Gold from 0.0 spreads on our RAW account; whilst constantly increasing our product offering and extending our weekend trading hours to allow more traders to capture more opportunities.
And, if I were to take a gamble, I’d take a bet that we’ll see more brokers try to compete against our industry-leading trading costs. They can try, but they won’t beat us.
5. Lastly, what makes Vantage different from other brokers? What's your edge?
We listen to our clients. It’s as simple as that.
Every broker says the same, but we truly embody it. From our reviews to our TrustPilot score: Vantage is here to stay, here to innovate, and here to serve. We want nothing but the best trading experience for our clients.
