The Retail FX Industry has gotten a lot more competitive and brokers are under a lot more scrutiny. To maintain their edge and increase profitability brokers need advanced tools and partners that can help them achieve this. At Tripeak we have a number of tools that have been an important factor in the success of many of our clients.  One of the most important tools is the Tripeak Broker Portal. This is a comprehensive and well-rounded technology package that gives you full control over your business. Whether it’s controlling your volume, commissions, spreads or tradeable assets – everything is instantly configurable and accessible with a click of a mouse and provides a real-time overview of risk, balance, equity, commissions and profit/loss.

The Broker Portal Dashboard will give you a clear picture of how your brokerage is performing with a macro level view of profits made since inception, current balance and equity, used and free margin and more.

Risk is a very import factor for a retail brokerage company and in order to successfully manage risk you need to be able to monitor risk. The portal will allow you to view risk in real time to determine the unrealized profit or loss on currency pairs in US dollar terms, as well quote currency. You can see volume, average price, current market rate.

You can also drill down and monitor exposure in individual currencies which is an important factor to help you manage risk much more effectively.

The Portal also allows you to manage your progress by examining the changes in equity, commissions, and realized profits/losses.  You will be able to choose between multiple accounts and to set the beginning and starting date to view the changes in the beginning balance and equity, commissions and commission adjustments, realized profit/loss, rollover, withdrawals, deposits, floating profit/loss, broker profit, ending balance and ending equity. In addition, you can use this tab to download detailed historic reports in various formats.

In the Retail FX space volume is often synonymous with profits, assuming everything else in your brokerage is being managed well. The portal will allow you to look at your different business segments and figure out what’s working and what needs help. You can select the asset you are interested in, and see which instruments are being traded, the number of trades in standard lots, base currency, unit volume and total notional volume for that instrument.

In the Broker Portal we have designed a special feature that allows you to create your MT4 managers and groups. With these groups, you can then determine their leverage, minimum/maximum lot size, and trading capabilities. You can select whether the new group will be an STP, Dealing Desk or Demo trading group, the deposit currency and whether rollover charges will be charged to your clients or not. With MT4 groups, you can also choose which asset class will be tradeable through the group – FX, metals or CFDs – as well as the minimum and maximum lot sizes that your clients can take. In addition, MT4 groups allow you to determine at which margin levels will your customers be notified that they are close to being liquidated, and finally stopped out.

You are also able to determine the group revenue streams for the MT4 group. Here you will manage the spreads for each of the active asset classes in your group, and decide whether you want to add an additional markup to the spread or charge commissions. In addition, you can set rebates that you are paying to your introducing brokers in the “FX, Metals and CFD Agent Commissions” field.

Everything in the broker portal is about making better decisions, which is what is required to run a successful business. The other factor that is hugely helpful to running your business is the CRM capability.

The XW Backoffice CRM feature of Tripeak empowers entire companies to be able to run themselves more efficiently. We have seen how CRM technology has affected nearly every industry, and to democratize it like this program does makes it possible for all these companies to exist and scale themselves quickly.

Dealing with customers is simple on a small scale, but it becomes more difficult as you start to deal with an increasing number of new clients every day. That is why we’ve created a system to help you, as no one can have more than a certain number of friends before they start to forget things about them and lose their relationship maintaining ability.

From the broker portal to the CRM technology, Tripeak is a great partner that can help you start a successful brokerage business or grow an existing business. We have the tools and the support to help you maximize your profits. Partner with one of the leading FX technology companies and let us help you grow.

If you have any questions at all please contact me: lfayman@Tripeak.com for more information

The post What Tools Do You Need to Manage your FX Brokerage… appeared first on Tripeak.

The era of internet and globalization has made it easier than ever to create aspiring online businesses with a global audience. Among these booming businesses that have benefited from the technological development are forex brokers. The forex market offers tremendous opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to enter the largest financial market in the world, with a daily turnover of more than $5 trillion and a growing number of retail forex traders around the world.

Now might be the best time to open an offshore forex brokerage – don’t miss the opportunity! According to the joint Forex Industry Report by LeapRate and Dow Jones, retail forex trading reached a daily trading volume of $185 billion in 2011, experiencing a stunning growth from under $10 billion per day in 2001.

Today, there are thousands of online Forex brokers available and their number is only increasing. While many of them have found their edge to operate efficiently and make a profit in this competitive market, there is also a number of brokers that cannot keep up with the competition and have to leave the market in the long-run.

This is the point where you want a reliable partner that not only helps you establish a brokerage, but also takes care about the technology, trading platforms, and gives you world-class customer support around the clock. Opening a forex brokerage is like a journey, and Tripeak could be your guide.

Where to Open Your Offshore Brokerage?

Among the many decisions to make when opening a forex brokerage, the one concerning where to base your company is one of the most important. The initial work involved in establishing a company and the legal framework around it present major hassles that every new forex broker faces. Choosing the right jurisdiction where to incorporate your company is the first step towards establishing a successful forex brokerage.

While some brokers opt for more established countries like the United Kingdom and Cyprus, the ease and low cost of establishing an offshore corporation in countries like Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Vanuatu, Cayman Islands and even republic of Georgia attract an increasing number of new brokerages.

Among these countries, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines proved to be the best option with the lowest initial capital requirements.

Tax Havens

Many of these countries are tax havens and feature tax rates that are practically at zero, with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines emerging as an especially popular destination for opening offshore companies. The country was removed from OECD’s “grey” list of non-transparent tax jurisdictions in 2010, but has not yet signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the or Canada, which means that your confidential information is protected from the US and Canadian authorities.

No Restriction on Leverage

Financial companies established in any offshore venues, including forex brokerages, do not have a leverage restriction on their services. You can offer any leverage you want to your clients, and concentrate entirely on offering the best possible user experience instead of worrying about strict financial regulations.

How can Tripeak Help?

Tripeak will take care of all the paperwork required for opening your forex brokerage in the venue of your choice to help you fast track your brokerage setup. All you need is to take care of your clients and business, while Tripeak takes care of the offshore company formation, technology, trading platforms, deep liquidity pools, and offers top-notch customer support to your business along the way.

Our services include:

• The complete offshore company formation in the venue of your choice, including all paperwork and obtaining any necessary licenses
• The formation of an E-Wallet/Bank for accepting client deposits
• Setting up a PSP service (Payment Service Provider) for the acceptance of client credit cards
• Fully apostilled documents

Tripeak also offers several packages which each offer varying amounts of features and services.

Whether you choose our FXStarter Kit Select, Deluxe or Supreme, you can depend on our experience in the forex business and 24/6 customer support.

Our FXStarter Kit Select does not require any upfront payments, making it unique in the market. This package is ideal for entrepreneurs who want to start a small FX business and grow into a future white label.

More ambitious entrepreneurs, who also want a custom branded trading platform and a host of additional services including incorporation and corporate bank accounts, can select our FXStarter Kit Deluxe and FXStarter Kit Supreme packages.

For more information about pricing and opening up a brokerage with Tripeak, you can visit www.Tripeak.com or contact Lawrence Fayman at lfayman@Tripeak.com.

The post Now is the Time to Open Your Offshore Forex Brokerage appeared first on Tripeak.

In April 2014, the European Parliament approved MiFID II – an updated version of the original MiFID Regulation – with the main objectives to increase consumer protection and competition in financial markets. The new update significantly expands the requirements of the original MiFID directive to cover a larger number of companies and financial products, and is set to take effect in January 2018. While Spot FX is not a financial instrument under MiFID II definitions, new requirements instruct that Spot FX trades should be executed using the same principles as any other financial instrument covered by MiFID II. These requirements may be a game-changer for the FX marketplace, and Tripeak is ready to fully comply with them.

Tripeak has had systems in place that adhere to the best execution policy been for many years and our systems comply with the new MiFID II requirements. We’ve been striving to be up-to-date on all legislative developments even before the law becomes effective. That means, we have been fully compliant with the changes introduced by MiFID II such as the best execution policy and transaction reporting.

Complying with the Best Execution Policy

The “best execution” policy is one of the key changes in MiFID II, and requires that firms take all “necessary steps” to obtain the best possible trading conditions for their clients.

Under Article 64 of the MiFID II Regulation, firms are now required to check the fairness of the price proposed to their clients by gathering market data that relates to the price of a product or OTC financial instrument. In contrast to MiFID, firms are now explicitly required to ensure that all necessary market checks are performed on a systematic basis and embedded in their policies and practices.

This does not only mean offering the best spread and execution price, but also includes “costs, speed, likelihood of execution and settlement, size, nature or any other relevant consideration,” as stated in Section 7, Article 65.

At Tripeak, we have taken all necessary steps to ensure compliance with the “best execution” policy and to continue to offer best possible market conditions to our clients.

Amendments to Transaction Reporting

In addition, MiFID II introduces significant changes in transaction reporting, which now requires an expansion of the set of information available on a given transaction and the full harmonization of the format of the reports across the EU.

At Tripeak, we fully comply with all amendments and new requirements set by MiFID II, such as best execution policy, transaction reporting, pre- and post-trade transparency and client order handling – and all our systems are ready for the updated Directive by the date the new regulations are set to take effect.

The post Tripeak is Ready for MiFID II appeared first on Tripeak.

LF: Mr. Simonis, recently, Moody’s downgraded China citing slowing economic growth and rising debt levels. Did you have any thoughts on how this might affect the FX markets?

SS: A country’s currency strength always carries importance in matters of trade surplus, and the yuan is no different; its role in the Chinese economy is no different than the level of the JPY to Japan’s economy or the pound to Great Britain’s economy.  What I find interesting is that after Moody’s downgraded China, China’s finance ministry posted a statement on their website to dispute Moody’s decision. They said the ratings agency overestimated the economic difficulties facing the country and underestimated its capability of making reforms and the reforms already in place. It’s unusual that Chinese authorities would make such an aggressive response to agency ratings. I think that China will continue the path it’s on and will not make any drastic moves based on anyone else’s opinion of their situation.

After the announcement, as one would expect, the main market movers were the NZD and AUD. They both went lower initially; however, they recovered all their losses after the finance ministry’s statement. Both of those pairs are continued higher than when the Moody’s downgrade occurred.

One would think that if you downgrade China you almost have to downgrade Hong Kong as their economies are closely connected. The Hong Kong dollar rarely moves unless they decide to move the peg which is pretty unlikely. All in all I think that Moody’s downgrade of China is no surprise and will carry little impact.

LF: Are there any fundamental events you think will affect the Euro this week?

SS: On Thursday June 8th, there’s the Minimum Bid Rate and ECB Press Conference. Germany’s Angela Merkel said the Euro is weak because of the ECB’s monetary policy, which has caused its large trade surplus. President Trump is quoted as saying this is “very bad”. Germany’s Scaeuble said that the Euro exchange rate is too low for Germany. Verbal intervention seemingly meant to push the Euro higher hasn’t had much impact. With geopolitical issues weighing on the region and looming contentious Brexit negotiations, I can see the Euro pushing back lower, testing the 1.10 level

LF: Do you have an outlook on the recent French elections?

SS: Macron’s victory was pretty much expected. While it is good news for the Eurozone’s stability, I do not think it will have much effect on the EUR/USD rate; however, as always, traders must still be wary of the ‘buy rumor sell the fact’ scenario. This puts the potential of France leaving the Eurozone talk to rest, keeps the Eurozone intact and creates a feeling of solidarity. Some people are saying that Angela Merkel now heads two countries. This could cause a selloff in the GBP as Brexit negotiations get under way. I’m looking for EUR/GBP to appreciate.

LF: Before I let you go, is there anything else you think traders around the world would like to know?

SS: The markets haven’t reacted much to the recent terror attacks in Manchester and Egypt which indicates that the market is heavily long CHF and JPY — which makes me concerned that an unwinding of long CHF positions could be volatile and trigger stops, and we know from the past that can be a very messy situation. I’m looking to begin to trim CHF longs.

For more information or you would just like to chat about the market please contact me at lfayman@Tripeak.com – Lawrence Fayman

The post Lawrence Fayman Sits Down for The Week Ahead appeared first on Tripeak.

In mid-March of this year, the federal reserve raised interest rates by 0.25% to between 0.75% and 1%(the official rate after the hike is 1%). Although the markets seemed prepared for this event, the impact of the rate hikes were felt across the globe.

FXDD Global’s chief currency consultant, Stephen Simonis Sr., had this to say: “As expected, the Fed raised rates but traders were clearly more interested in Janet Yellen’s comments. There was no reassessment of the Fed’s economic outlook and she said near term risks to the outlook appear ‘roughly balanced’. Minnesota Fed President Neil Kashkari may have helped push the dollar lower with his dovish tone.  It seems to us that this is a classic buy the rumor, sell the fact scenario as we cannot help but think the market is heavily long of dollars.  While the dollar sell off may last for a day or too our thinking is that buying these USD dips is still a good strategy.”

Investors are asking: how many more rate hikes will we see this year? Will the market be as prepared as it was for the last hike? However, the fed hikes are not the only market mover that is top-of-mind for traders. There are many other events that have investors alert. FXDD is making investors aware of the new U.S. and China relationship, as well as other geopolitical issues including the U.S. missile attacks on a Syrian airfield, and analysis on the Australian economy. Simonis said, “President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a 100 day plan for trade talks. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the plan will boost U.S. exports and reduce the U.S. deficit with China. Ross further commented, “Given the range of issues and the magnitude, [reducing the deficit] may be ambitious, but it’s a very big sea change in the pace of discussion. I think that’s a very important symbolization of the growing rapport between the two countries.” The summit ended with no confrontations between the two sides and President Trump said “tremendous progress” was made and the U.S. relationship with China is “outstanding.” These are all positive signs toward improved bi-lateral relations, especially considering that the U.S. missile attack on a Syrian airfield happened during Trump and Xi’s meeting, as well as China’s ongoing problem with North Korea. Market investors and traders will look at this as a solid beginning to the new U.S. administration’s relationship with China moving forward. Amidst all the uncertainty surrounding trade and fiscal policies right now, if indeed the world’s two biggest economies can work together it bodes well for global markets. We think the yuan and the dollar will gain ground across the board.”

He added, “The world is clearly fraught with geopolitical risk around every corner. Terrorist attacks in Russia and Sweden along with the U.S. missile attacks on a Syrian airfield in response to a horrific nerve gas attack on civilians have investors on edge. The attacks by the U.S. have strained the recent slightly improved relationship it had with Russia. China also has an ongoing problem with North Korea launching missiles seemingly every other day. With all these worrisome spots and other troubles lurking, traders are looking for any port in the storm. The world has changed and investors and traders must adapt or be left behind. Traders are looking for safe havens such as gold, swiss francs and the yen. It looks to us that safe havens will benefit from this unsettled environment for some time to come.”

Simonis’s thoughts on Australia are as follows: “Australia’s growth has been undermined by population gains and resource exports to China. Failure to spur significant productivity has led to a stagnant economy. Household debts are at levels that could lead to financial instability. The RBA has mentioned their concern over the debts and are worried it could lead households to curb spending. We were hoping to see higher levels in the AUD in order to sell however that scenario dose not seem to be developing. We are bearish on the aussie dollar and are looking for a move to the .7300 – .7350 level.”

For more information or you would just like to chat about the market please contact me at lfayman@Tripeak.com – Lawrence Fayman

The post Geopolitical Market Events appeared first on Tripeak.

Tripeak offers great packages for large and small brokers.With Tripeak’s Select packages; you can set up your brokerage with no startup fees and no monthly fees. Tripeak’s FXStarterKit is a full solution Forex trading system for small businesses and startup brokerages looking to add more liquidity and MetaTrader trading solutions to their clients. Signing up for FX Starter Kit is as easy as registering, choosing a front-end trading platform, then customizing the user interface with your brand. After creating a seamless interface firms can connect to our API and we host currency trading data with backend solutions. Using FXStarterKit lets managers focus on getting more Forex trading institutions and offer custom services for their clients. Choose from 4 back-end platforms including MetaTrader and front-end Platforms XW. You can compare our FxStarterKit Packages here: http://Tripeak.com/en/fx-starter-kit/compare

For more advanced brokerages, we offer a TotalBrokerSolution. Tripeak’s TotalBrokerSolution is an advanced Forex trading platform that manages advanced dealing and risk management with global liquidity and customizable leveraging. We offer our clients innovative trading technology and customer service solutions for FX trading firms so they can focus on obtaining more clients. TotalBrokerSolution front-end platforms allow customers to have complete control over their Forex trading quote and liquidity strategies which make managing currency pairs easier for their clients. Our risk management tools and Forex trading Backoffice CRM support helps clients manage liquidity and risk while finding the best prices for Forex trades. TotalBrokerSolution includes API support with XW suite offerings and Metatrader. Find out how these solutions can help your business manage more clients now.

There are 2 main packages, TotalBrokerSolution Principal and TotalBrokerSolution ENTERPRISE.

The TotalBrokerSolution Principal package allows you to onboard up to 15,000 users. Principal users can enjoy the benefits of a very generous allowance of MT4 groups and MT4 Managers, as well as assistance in compliance and accounting.

The TotalBrokerSolution ENTERPRISE package gives organizations full control of Tripeak’s platforms, back-end, front-end, API & bridge, and risk management solutions. With access to our complete Dealing & Risk Management suite (including XW Risk Manager, XW Dealing Manager, XW Liquidity Aggregator, and XW Price Engine), you can manage risk, liquidity, markups and spreads. As a TotalBrokerSolution user, you will have the ability to offer Tripeak’s broker building services to other entities.

You can compare our TotalBrokerSolutions here: http://Tripeak.com/en/total-broker-solution/compare

You can reach the Tripeak team with any further questions or comments: support@mt4api.net or by phone: +1-+44 20 3287 3826.

The post Is now the perfect time to open a Forex brokerage? appeared first on Tripeak.

Tight regulations are limiting binary option brokers’ ability to expand. As we wrote about a couple of weeks ago, regulations are important to ensure the safety of traders; however, regulators must allow brokerages the ability to operate freely enough so they have the resources to support a safe and secure trading environment for their customers. Regulations on brokers and traders alike are forcing brokers to downsize, and focus investments into other areas of the business – like employing more lawyers and compliance officers – and not on building innovative trading technologies for traders.

In the recent weeks we’ve seen Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) increase the need for additional disclaimers on all binary brokers offering leverage higher than 10:1, including a disclaimer before trades are placed. FINRA is getting involved, too. FINRA, the largest independent regulator for all securities firms’ ‎doing business in the , warned investors that companies and persons are approaching victims of fraud from binary options brokers claiming they can recover their lost funds for a fee, which is yet another scam itself. The latter is a perfect example of how regulators are important — by informing traders of potential risks. This is a much better use of regulations than requiring brokers to invest time, money and resources into developing technology that can show a customer the same disclaimer each time they want to make a trade.

Tripeak’s partner company FXDD Trading, offers a safe and secure binary options platform. The FXDD brand has been around for 15 years and is committed to providing an optimal trading environment for self-directed and institutional traders around the world. FXDD Binary Options gives you the ability to foresee changing value of currencies, commodities, stocks, and indices with an innovative and simple to use trading platform. With low barriers to entry, you can explore multiple asset classes, expanding your trading portfolio and opportunities.

At Tripeak, we offer binary options brokerages the ability to use an MT4 plugin to connect their binary options to MT4, and trade binaries through MT4. Tripeak is the same company that helped FXDD become a leader in MetaTrader 4 Forex trading software. The company was the first to offer MetaTrader 4 FX trading software in the U.S. MT4 gives traders access to advanced charts to help them make better trade decisions and anticipate currency trade movements. MetaTrader 4 combines the best in charting and order entry for fast, easy and effective FX trading. MetaTrader 4 is the industry-standard FX trading platform and helps individuals and institutions partake in foreign exchange market trading.

Our global reach and ability to develop cutting-edge tools at a rate that outpaces other brokerages has helped FXDD develop into global force in Forex. And as we continue to develop, so too will our offerings and technologies; giving traders the opportunity to make the most of the currency market.

To learn more about how Tripeak can help you, reach out to me at lfayman@Tripeak.com

-Lawrence Fayman

The post Binary Blowout appeared first on Tripeak.

 
The yuan should stabilize because traders and market participants will likely cease overreacting to moves from China. An improving economy will certainly help the yuan as fundamentals are always the most important factor in currency movements; however, they take time to take effect. Trump’s phone call to Xi, although not about currencies, also helped stabilize the yuan as it showed some positive communication between the leaders of the two biggest economies in the world.

 
Trump has shown a penchant for turning his campaign promises into reality with almost frightening haste. His early mentions of China as a currency manipulator seem to have been off the cuff. Monetary policies will sometimes drive a currency’s value down; however, its goal is economic stimulus, not manipulation.

 
China indeed may need to devalue its currency but our feeling is that market participants are much less likely to be surprised by this and some even expect it. When they devalued the last time, markets were caught by surprise and turmoil ensued. That will not be the case this time and although devaluation will certainly have market impact, we think global markets will be ready if and when it happens. Devaluation could spur President Trump to react but we think he’ll be less accusatory. Pointing fingers and creating more tension will not help remedy the situation.

If you would like to discuss the FX market or your brokerage needs please contact me at lfayman@Tripeak.com

The post Trump and the China FX Market appeared first on Tripeak.

Here are some points to consider:

•  Trade if there is a great opportunity to trade since It should not matter whether it is December 25th or July 1st.
•  You know how to take advantage of the erratic pricing
•  You will be trading on pairs of the countries whose banks that are not closed on Holidays (Australian banks will not celebrate Christmas)
•  As an Asset manager you want to finish a year with a positive trading result (catch up)
•  In some rare cases you  want to trade because the Mercury retrogrades in Scorpio and Uranus squares Pluto

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