Australian regulated, MahiFX, has announced that it is launching the MetaTrader 4 platform alongside its existing MahiFX proprietary platform. The MT4 offering will provide similar spreads and trading conditions as the broker’s MahiFX platform. Although offering the same spread and trading instruments, the two platforms will operate independently of each other, with separate accounts needed to trade on each system.
In their public statement, MahiFX remarked that the launch was based on meeting client demand for automated trading, as CEO David Cooney remarked “having actively sought and listened to client feedback, we recognise that a significant proportion of the Forex trading community has a distinct preference for automated trading systems and MetaTrader 4 is a preferred platform that they are comfortable trading on.” When asked by Forex Magnates whether the demand for automated trading would lead to such a feature being added onto the MahiFX platform, a company representative answered that “there are no immediate plans to add automated trading on the MahiFX platform.”
The news marks another broker with a proprietary platform succumbing to client demand to launch MT4. So far this year we have seen Saxo Bank, City Index, and IG Group announce that they are adding the platform. In addition, in an Executive Interview with Cooney earlier this, we discussed the firm’s unique position as it chose to both develop its own platform and eschew partnership arrangements. At the time, Cooney explained that owning their own platform allowed them to have insight into their trader’s needs and requests and adopt to those demands. As such, the launch of a demand driven MT4 presents another example of how entrenched the platform is within the retail world, as well as how it is viewed as the most convenient source for automated trading.
