Leading retail FX firm FXCM, the world’s largest online FX broker (and a member of LeapRate’s Approved List), has launched a venture capital unit called FXCM Ventures. The new arm of FXCM plans to make seed and early stage investments in electronic trading technology startups.
Whether or not FXCM ever eventually makes investment # 1, we think FXCM’s move is a small stroke of genius. Just by putting FXCM Ventures out there, FXCM is likely to see (most) every interesting startup out there. Traditional venture capital financing is becoming harder to come by (unless you’re making iPhone apps!), and just the smell of investment will attract many budding entrepreneurs.
We also think that “traditional” VC firms will bring their related portfolio companies to FXCM, both for co-investment opportunities and for “real world” validation of their companies’ technologies and business models.
Will FXCM find the next Leverate, as Saxo Bank did more than a year ago? Time will tell.
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