The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has published its anticipated monthly report for July 2020, 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 negative change month-over-month from June, though differences amongst each broker were more pronounced. With no major changes recently, the sector is tracking for a stable start to the third quarter.
Only two of the five FX firms listed notched increases in Retail Forex Obligations, this time was Interactive Brokers, which saw its clients’ assets grow by $6.6 million, or nearly 10 percent month-over-month.
In addition, Nebraska-based TD Ameritrade reported an increase over last month’s figure by nearly $3.6 million to $67.3 million at the end of July 2020, compared with $63.7 million in the previous month, up by 6 percent month-over-month.
Overall, the FX funds held at registered brokerages operating in the United States came in at $569.3 million in July 2020, which is 1 percent less than the $576 million reported in June.
Gain Keeps Lead in Market Share
According to the CFTC dataset, three of the four FX firms listed notched drops in Retail Forex Obligations including GAIN Capital, OANDA Corporation, and IG US.
The worst performer for the month was GAIN Capital which saw an overall fall of $8.4 million to $213 million at the end of July 2020, compared to $222 million at the end of June, or an increase by 4 percent month-over-month.
Data from the US securities regulator in the month prior showed that Gain Capital added less than $1 million in retail forex deposits.
Looking at the market share of different brokers, the distribution slightly changed in July relative to the month prior. GAIN Capital remained the leader in terms of market share, commanding a 38 percent share. Additionally, OANDA solidified its stance as the second largest in the US with 35 percent market share. TD Ameritrade and Interactive Brokers retain a 12 percent share each.
The chart listed below outlines the full list of all FCMs that held Retail Forex Obligations in the month ending in July 31, 2020, for purposes of comparison, the figures have been included against their June 2020 counterparts to illustrate disparities.
