Investment Trends reports 20-30% year-over-year increase in participants in FX and CFD trading in France.
Research firm Investment Trends published an updated report on FX and CFD trading in France, which showed a healthy increase in trading in 2012 over 2011, despite lower volatility levels. (We understand, in our conversations with brokers and platform providers, that 2013 is looking great as well, with even-higher volatility).
So what drove growth in FX / CFD trading while volatility was low? In one word (two, actually) — Stamp Tax. Budget-strapped France was the first European country to introduce a 0.2% transaction ‘Stamp-Tax’ levy on financial transactions. Many traders have avoided the tax by switching to FX and CFDs, which allow them to trade without actually owning the shares, thereby avoiding the tax.
So who are the leading FX and CFD brokers serving French customers? The leaders are:
The France market is still small compared to other countries studied by Investment Trends. France has less currently active CFD traders (19,500) than Germany (43,000) and even Singapore (22,000), and less currently active FX traders (20,500) than the UK (74,000) and Germany (30,000). Relative to its population, the level of adoption of CFD/FX trading in France was the lowest among the countries examined by Investment Trends — which on the flipside further highlights growth potential.
For the Investment Trends press release announcing the France FX and CFD report click here (pdf)
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.