The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has published its anticipated monthly report for September 2018, which covers data for FCMs that are registered as Retail Foreign Exchange Dealers (RFEDs) and those included as broker-dealers that hold retail Forex obligations in the United States.
The latest data shows a total positive change month-over-month from August, though differences amongst each broker were more pronounced. With no major changes recently, the sector is tracking for a stable start to the fourth quarter.
Only one of the four FX firms listed notched drops in Retail Forex Obligations, this time was Interactive Brokers, which saw a drop of $4.5 million, or nearly 12 percent month-over-month. The Connecticut-based company was the best performer in August after recording an overall rise of $3.4 million to $37.3 million, up 10 percent over July.
Overall, the FX funds held at registered brokerages operating in the United States came in at $530.3 million in September 2018, which is one percent more than the $523 million reported in August.
According to the CFTC dataset, three of the four FX firms listed notched increases in Retail Forex Obligations including GAIN Capital, OANDA Corporation, and TD AMERITRADE.
GAIN’s Metrics Rebound
The best performer for the month was GAIN Capital which saw an overall rise of $7 million to $244.5 million at the end of September 2018, compared to $237 million at the end of August, or an increase by seven percent month-over-month.
Data from the US securities regulator in the month prior showed that Gain Capital lost nearly $10 million in retail forex deposits.
In addition, Nebraska-based TD Ameritrade reported an increase over last month’s figure by nearly $2 million, to $64.3 million at the end of September 2018, compared with $62.3 million in the previous month, up by three percent month-over-month.
Looking at the market share of different brokers, the distribution slightly changed in September relative to the month prior. GAIN Capital remained the leader in terms of market share, commanding a 46 percent share, advancing one percent from August. OANDA also solidified its stance as the second largest in the US with 36 percent market share – TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers retain a 12 and six percent share respectively.
The chart listed below outlines the full list of all FCMs that held Retail Forex Obligations in the month ending in September 30, 2018 – for purposes of comparison, the figures have been included against their August 2018 counterparts to illustrate disparities.
CFTC Data for September
