LeapRate Exclusive Interview… As competition in the Retail FX space becomes more fierce, as clients start to trade more cryptocurrencies, and as regulators place more limitations on the sector, dealing properly with issues such as risk management and liquidity can often make the difference between success and failure (or even survival) for brokers.
So it is no surprise that a number of relatively new entrants to that market have emerged, with solutions tailored for both existing and new brokers. One of those new entrants, CySEC licensed INFLYX, has been adding staff and looking to expand its footprint.
We’re pleased to speak today with INFLYX Chief Risk Officer Marios Antoniou about their approach to the business. Here is what he had to say.
LR: Hi Marios, and thanks for joining us today. Please let us know a little more about the decision to branch out and launch INFLYX as a liquidity solutions provider.
Marios: We noticed that there are not many organisations offering a full package solution. We are here to offer liquidity on cryptos, forex, commodities and other classes of instrument. Not only that, we can offer a one-stop solution for people that want to establish their own brokerage as we have an excellent relationship with PSPs and CRM providers. We are confident that we can accommodate everyone’s needs without compromising the quality.
LR: What are your key target markets for INFLYX? Who are your customers?
Marios: Our goal is to attract small to medium-sized brokerages along with professional traders that are looking for deep liquidity, tight spreads and fast and reliable execution. At the moment we are mainly focused on Europe, but our goal is to expand our operations further in the next couple of months.
LR: Where do you think the ‘holes’ in the market are? Where are FX brokers not being served well now by existing providers?
Marios: The most important thing that is missing from the industry is transparency. Brokers and traders want to know who is the execution venue, what is the average spread, what is the average execution time. Is the market depth enough to cover clients’ needs? This is where we step in. We have a dedicated team, available 24/5, monitoring everything and in position to support our clients at any given time without delays. We managed to build a team with great experience and expertise, ensuring that INFLYX has the capability to deliver a unique product under unparallelled conditions.
LR: When it comes to cryptocurrency liquidity and risk management, we’ve read a lot about the difficulty some brokers are having. How do you address the issue?
Marios: As mentioned before, there are not many providers that can offer liquidity for a long list of instruments. As a result, the operating cost for the brokers that want to have cryptos in their platforms along with other classes of instrument is high. INFLYX though can offer liquidity for various instruments, leading to smaller costs and higher margins. We can also offer risk management solutions that can optimise the revenue stemming from their trading exposure.
LR: We’re just a few days away from the implementation of ESMA’s new rules governing CFD trading, including strict limits on leverage. From your perspective, how do see things among FX and CFD brokers ‘shaking out’?
Marios: I would say that we are facing big challenges in the industry due to the many changes that the regulators proposed and are about to propose. We will see volumes and brokers’ revenues becoming smaller. Retail clients will need either to invest bigger sums of money to stay unaffected and keep their positions open or look for brokers from other jurisdictions that can offer them higher leverage.
In any case, we support these changes that we believe will lead to higher standards and greater transparency within the industry.