Over the passing week the online trading industry has seen various positive news items make the headlines. New technology, new partnerships, new licences and a massive IPO. Unfortunately a police investigation has also brought up some negative attention to one brokerage this week.
New Paragon
On Monday, UFX.com announced that the company is launching an all new version of its trading platform ParagonEx 4.0. The broker’s redesigned platform, dubbed revolutionary, boasts a long list of new features and tools to offer to traders.
The new platform is accessible through any web browser and doesn’t require additional downloads and installations. ParagonEx 4.0 upgrades on the company’s previously available Web Trader platform but builds a new layer of functionality.
CMC Markets IPO
On Tuesday we reported that the IPO prospectus of CMC Markets shows that the company’s clients traded considerably more last year. For the first six months of 2015, clients of CMC Markets traded to the tune of £1.112 trillion ($1.6 trillion). The company also boasted solid cash reserves, with £57.6 million in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet as of the end of September 2015.
The following day CMC Markets launched a redesigned version of its website in the UK. For the development of the new front end, the company has partnered with independent digital agency The BIO Agency.
And finally, after years of speculation, CMC Markets (LON:CMCX) is now officially listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company’s shares have been priced at 240 pence per share. At this price the valuation of CMC Markets (LON:CMCX) comes to about £691 million ($1 billion). The online brokerage has raised about £218 million, including a £15 million ($21.8 million) primary capital raise and £203 million ($295 million) of secondary shares.
Big in Asia
On Wednesday TechFinancials announced a new joint venture (JV) with IBID Holdings Limited. Registered in Hong Kong, IBID Holdings Limited is a company involved in developing growth oriented online companies. Under the terms of agreement with IBID, TechFinancials will hold a controlling 51% stake in the JV compared to 49% for IBID.
And on the same day, EZTD, formerly known as EZTRADER, has announced that it has become licensed as a regulated broker in Japan. Entering Japan, the firm is operating under the EZINVEST brand, with the Japanese unit offering Forex trading to clients. However, with the FFAJ license, EZTD has the ability to additionally launch binary options in the country as well, a model used by many local brokers.
CWM Update
On Thursday City Police in London warned of a major ponzi scheme, suspecting that CWM (Capital World Markets) maliciously targeted hundreds of members of the Gurkha and Nepalese community in the city, culminating in a potential scam worth an estimated $72.9 million (£50 million).
City of London Police Detective Chief Inspector Dave Manley said: “The evidence suggests that representatives of CWM targeted hundreds of members of the Gurkha and Nepalese community and then exploited them in order to defraud millions of pounds.”
Blackwell Global Goes British
On Friday, we reported that Blackwell Global has become the latest addition to the UK list of Financial Conduct Authority regulated companies. The firm received a matched principal license after deciding to raise its profile across the European and global markets.
Finance Magnates spoke to the the CEO of Blackwell Global, Patrick Latchford who shared that the FCA licensing process took about seven months. “We have acquired the FCA license for a number off reasons – we are strong in Asia, and we don’t have a particularly high profile in the European markets. We think that our clients globally will all be more keen to interact with an FCA licensed entity, since its a stamp of quality all around the world,” he explained.
