Dow Jones Newswires reports that the chief executive of OptionsXpress Holdings. Inc. (OXPS) confirmed that the brokerage's currency-trading offering is set to launch this summer, complementing its capabilities in derivatives and stocks. This is not surprising as it is the latest trends in the US market although the regulatory climate is still not fully clear. Many traditional online equity brokers are now looking at the retail Forex space, with TradeStation being the latest to actually enter it.
CEO David Fisher said no specific launch date has been set for the previously disclosed offering but that it has seen "very good progress" in testing and was on track for a summer rollout.
Shortly after the company was acquired by Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) in a $1 billion stock deal nearly two months ago, Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger cited rapidly growing interest in currencies among his company's clientele during a conference call to discuss the deal. The OptionsXpress acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter.
The foreign-Exchange offering, first reported by Dow Jones Newswires in April, is the latest of several retail-brokerage pushes into the currency markets. Forex-focused brokerage firms FXCM Inc. (FXCM) and Gain Capital Holdings Inc. (GCAP) made initial public offerings late last year.
Fisher told Dow Jones Newswires that the OptionsXpress offering "rounds out our all-in-one account" that gives investors a single brokerage to trade futures, stocks, options and foreign exchange.
