LeapRate Exclusive Interview… When MahiFX first came on the scene a few years back it was clear that the company had something different in mind than just being your typical MT4 Forex broker. And now, as an ASIC regulated broker, one visit to the MahiFX website confirms that there is something quite unique about the company.
It turns out that MahiFX has indeed taken a different route. The company has been putting most of its marketing muscle into its institutional FX solution MFX Compass. And with that, the focus of the company has shifted to London, where MahiFX is actively pursuing FCA regulation.
LeapRate is pleased to speak today with MahiFX CEO David Cooney as he sheds some more light on institutional FX products, clone websites, FCA regulation and more.
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Hi David, and thanks for joining us today. We understand that MahiFX is putting most of its marketing muscle behind MFX Compass, your institutional product. Can you let us know some more about it – functionality, uniqueness, its target audience, which products it competes with. How is it going so far?
MFX Compass is a complete solution for banks, institutional brokers and CTAs to allow them to set up and run a spot electronic foreign exchange business. It gives them all the tools they need to create an accurate mid price, manage their risk and analyse their portfolio. As well as supplying them with the technology, MFX Compass also provides outsourced IT and quant functions allowing the client to stay at the cutting edge of e-FX. MFX Compass has been live for 2.5 years now and is gaining a lot of traction across the market due to its uniqueness and popular profit sharing model.
We recently reported on a clone site Great Trade, which you were able to bring down after what seems like a long process. Can you let our readers know more about how that happened?
The Great Trades website was a shameless (but persistent!) scam, offering potential investors unrealistic returns. The difference with Great Trades was that they used photos and profiles of myself and the MahiFX team to make the website appear more authentic. The host location of the website meant there were no sanctions in place to enforce a take-down, which of course makes the process a very lengthy, drawn-out one. Late last month the site was finally removed after months of perseverance.
My advice to readers is to always do your due diligence before parting with your money.
You’ve publicly stated your intentions of becoming licensed in the UK by the FCA. How is that process going? And it seems as though there are a lot of brokers looking to take market share in a very competitive and crowded UK online trading market. How do you see MahiFX differentiating itself and succeeding?
It is our intention to become licensed in the UK and we are in the middle of the process at the moment. These things, as you would expect, take time. We are currently regulated by ASIC and have a NZ dealers license so we always ensure all of our obligations are being met by current regulators before pursuing more. It is indeed a competitive space but we hope that we differentiate ourselves from our quality of service and excellent pricing. We also hope current and potential clients take comfort from knowing the services we offer are also used by some of the world’s largest institutions which should give them confidence in the pricing, service and technology.
How do you see how the FX trading world has changed post-Swiss Franc spike. Which lessons did MahiFX take from the events of January 15, and what followed?
I think there have been significant changes in the FX trading world since the Swiss incident. People knew that having strong risk management was important but I think it had been filed away in the to-do basket. The incident caused ripples of fear and anxiety across the industry (although strangely wasn’t reported widely in the non FX media). Afterwards, we saw an instant increase in enquiry, as if suddenly the need for a product like MFX Compass shot to the top of many people’s priorities. Our machines performed admirably across our own businesses and our partners. It did exactly what it said on the tin! Many people know that now, more than ever, strong risk management is a must, not a nice to have.