FXCM retail volumes off 6% in March, but institutional up 57%

Retail forex broker FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM) has announced key customer trading metrics for March 2016 for both its retail and institutional foreign exchange business.

Not surprisingly, retail volumes in March were down at FXCM (by 6%), in line with what we have seen at most other leading brokers.

However institutional volumes popped more than 50% M0M at FXCM. Our view is that the rise is somewhat insignificant, given the small base off which FXCM has been working, since transferring most of its institutional deal flow to FastMatch last year. And in any event, FXCM earns the vast majority of its revenues from retail, not institutional trading.

Some more details on March trading at FXCM:

Retail Customer Trading Metrics

  • Retail customer trading volume of $291 billion in March 2016, 6% lower than February 2016 and 11% lower than March 2015.
  • Volume from indirect sources was 36% of total retail volume in the first quarter 2016.
  • Retail customer trading volume for the first quarter 2016 was $931 billion, 3% lower than the fourth quarter 2015, and 0.3% lower than the first quarter 2015.
  • Average retail customer trading volume per day of $12.7 billion in March 2016, 14% lower than February 2016 and 15% lower than March 2015.
  • An average of 563,123 retail client trades per day in March 2016, 14% lower than February 2016 and 7% higher than March 2015.
  • Active accounts of 175,736 as of March 31, 2016, an increase of 214 accounts, or 0.1%, from February 29, 2016, and an increase of 4,829 accounts, or 3%, from March 31, 2015.
  • Tradeable accounts of 167,364 as of March 31, 2016, an increase of 2,085 accounts, or 1% from February 29, 2016, and a decrease of 17,812 accounts, or 10%, from March 31, 2015.

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Institutional Customer Trading Metrics

  • Institutional customer trading volume of $83 billion in March 2016, 57% higher than February 2016 and 26% higher than March 2015.
  • Average institutional trading volume per day of $3.6 billion in March 2016, 44% higher than February 2016 and 20% higher than March 2015.
  • An average of 52,551 institutional client trades per day in March 2016, 4% higher than February 2016 and 265% higher than March 2015.

More details and history of FXCM volumes can be accessed from the company’s website.

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