Last month, JFD Group Ltd announced that it has combined its retail and institutional services under the brand JFD Bank, making the website www.JFDBANK.com its new online hub for all current and future services offered by the FinTech group.
Nikola Marinov, JFD Bank Head of Marketing
Nikola Marinov, JFD Bank’s Head of Marketing, joins LeapRate today to discuss the company move from a marketing perspective.
LR: Hi, Nikola! Thank you for joining Leaprate today! You joined JFD as a Head of Marketing back in January 2019. What changes have you experienced in the company business so far, especially from a marketing aspect?
Nikola: Thank you for having me! It’s been a very exciting journey for me at JFD so far. The company has changed tremendously since the beginning of the year. After acquiring 100% of the German investment bank ACON, we renamed it to JFD Bank AG and rebranded the entire business to align all client facing communication with the new vision. Marketing-wise this has been a big effort, requiring clear internal communication and timely production of a number of off- and online assets throughout the process.
LR: The website www.JFDBANK.com is JFD’s new online hub for all current and future services offered by the FinTech group. What do you think about this move from a marketing perspective?
Nikola: The new website consolidates retail and institutional services under one roof. Services provided by the various entities within the group can now benefit from the synergies of a combined brand name. JFDBANK.com is really a one-stop multi-asset experience for trading and investment services. We still have a lot of work to do in terms of fine-tuning customer journeys, however, the main message is clear – JFD is setting the standard for the new trading and investment industry.
LR: How do you see JFD setting itself apart from the crowd? Any new services now offering?
Nikola: We’ve never been part of the crowd anyway. We pioneered post-trade transparency for our clients. We were among the first to offer commission-free stock trading. We are definitely the first to acquire a German Investment Bank regulated by BaFin – one of the strictest regulators in Europe. As a result, institutional clients in particular will be glad to find out that we can meet their needs now in a way that no other company is able to.
LR: You recently added commission-free stock trading conditions to your product portfolio, and included the shares of the largest Dutch and German companies to the stocks your clients can trade on the MetaTrader 5 platform. What else is new in your product offering and what other additions can we expect from JFD this year?
Nikola: Less than a month ago we added some of the largest French companies to our real stocks portfolio as well. Constantly increasing the number of available instruments is an important focus for us. Soon we will add Spanish stocks, followed by shares of companies from Italy and the UK. All of these will be available to trade commission-free on MetaTrader 5 as well as on JFD Trader – a new platform to be launched in 2019 as well.
LR: There have been a lot of changes in the Retail FX broker space, driven both by regulation (like ESMA’s leverage cap) and increasing competition. From your unique perspective, what changes do you envision for the industry in the coming months?
Nikola: Regulation is a natural stage of the business cycle, especially when you deal with technology. I believe there will be a fair amount of consolidation in the industry as we have seen this happening in the US and in Japan after their markets faced harsher regulation. Companies with a solid business model and a focus on innovation will stand the test of time and rise to the top. In times when some of the biggest players report 30%-40% downturns, I am proud to say that JFD hasn’t lost any revenue since the new rules were introduced.
LR: What’s ahead for JFD as a company in 2019? New expansions, some new hires, maybe?
Nikola: Earlier this year we already challenged the status quo of traditional brokers and investment intermediaries by introducing zero-fee stock trading for JFD clients. The new conditions came with no limitations to number of trades, minimum volumes, or additional monthly fees and charges. We plan to expand this offer and build a unique multi-asset trading experience that will provide investors with a one-stop shop when it comes to such financial services. Geographically, apart from strengthening our core markets in the DACH region, we have plans to expand our presence in Europe and set foot in Southeast Asia by the end of this year.
JFD Bank’s Andrey Stoychev recently joined LeapRate as well to speak about market manipulation and how clients can protect themselves. Read all about it here.
