The CFTC has published US retail forex broker data for the month of January 2017, indicating a slight 1.3% rise in assets held by US retail forex traders to $532 million, up from $523 million in December 2016.
Continuing to lead the way in December was FXCM, now a unit of the recently rebranded Global Brokerage Inc (NASDAQ:GLBR). FXCM client assets were $183.4 million in January, up from $178.9 million.
However all (or at least most) of those assets moved during the month of February to rival Gain Capital Holdings Inc (NYSE:GCAP) and its Forex.com unit. When next months stats come out, that should allow Gain Capital to leapfrog over current #2 Oanda to take over as the clear #1 in US retail forex. Gain actually reported on January 27 that it had transferred over 47,000 accounts with total assets of approximately $142 million from FXCM.
FXCM was fined $7 million and forced to exit the US forex market in February, with now ex-CEO Drew Niv also banned from the industry, in settlement of charges of long-term defrauding of customers about the true nature of FXCM’s supposed no-dealing-desk execution model. FXCM then quickly turned around and sold its US client base to Gain Capital (for no money up front, on a max $500 per client CPA basis). Several days later Drew Niv resigned.
Bringing up the rear were TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NYSE: AMTD) and Interactive Brokers Group Inc (NASDAQ:IBKR), each with less that 10% market share.
CFTC US retail forex client asset data for the month of January 2017:
| FOREX CAPITAL MARKETS LLC | $183,422,554 |
| OANDA CORPORATION | 134,545,222 |
| GAIN CAPITAL GROUP LLC | 126,888,959 |
| TD AMERITRADE FUTURES & FOREX LLC | 50,972,744 |
| INTERACTIVE BROKERS LLC | 36,585,526 |
| Total | $532,415,005 |