An Interview with FP Markets Chief Executive Officer (Europe) – Head of EMEA, Craig Allison

1. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced a change to leverage ratio limits and client protections from April. As an ASIC regulated broker, is this a good move for the industry and clients, and are you prepared for these changes?

We are always supportive of well-intentioned regulatory change which is designed to protect the end user. The only concern when cross-referencing similar regulatory changes globally is that the knock-on effect of over-regulation is inevitably that traders seek to trade with off-shore providers so that they can maintain their current trading conditions. We do not see an issue with clients wishing to trade offshore, as FP Markets also has alternative trading venues, however we caution all traders to ensure that they continue to trade with a reputable brand as trading with an offshore provider may increase the risks that you end up with an unscrupulous offshore provider that does not hold regulation in any jurisdiction and does not practice high compliance standards across their group.

We are well-prepared for these changes. FP Markets is a group of companies and clients have the ability to open an account with our group entities which will maintain current trading conditions. Regardless of the group entity, clients will continue to receive the same products, services, high levels of customer service and powerful technology that they are accustomed to at FP Markets.

Some clients will also be able to continue to trade under the current trading conditions with our ASIC entity, including higher leverage, by opening an FP Markets Pro Account.

2. As well-known regulators are moving in alignment with each other in terms of client protection and leverage limits, there are many unregulated offshore brokers popping up. What advice can you give to clients when picking a broker to trade with this year?

Make sure you do your homework when choosing a broker. Read online reviews and check ratings on respected websites. First question to ask is are they regulated and if so, where? Further, be sure to check that the same standards will be maintained by the provider regardless of the entity you may be trading with, as is the case with FP Markets.

Execution and trading conditions are also important – look for tight ECN pricing and fast execution so that it is mandatory that your broker fills you at the best possible price for your orders. Good forex brokers will allow you to deposit funds and withdraw your earnings hassle-free with no hidden fees and charges.

24/5 Customer Support is also very important so that you are given the real-time trading support you need.

3. Recent market volatility has caused some stockbrokers in the US to suffer platform outages and even delist some stocks for new positions. As FP Markets offers multiple asset classes to trade on, including more than 10,000 global stocks, do you envisage more stock market volatility to continue this year? How can traders protect themselves in these situations?

COVID-19 vaccine prospects should make 2021 a year of global economic recovery. Markets have priced in some of this positive good news, but more gains seem possible as corporate profits rebound and central banks remain on hold. That said, there is sure to be stock market volatility for the remainder of the year as global economies emerge out of lockdown at different speeds and the uncertainty on the effects of government bailouts continues.

In terms of traders protecting themselves, traders will look to use more robust risk and capital management protocols in volatile markets. When markets are moving swiftly, good traders will look to jump on strong trends with staggered entry trades before then employing some relatively basic profit retention strategies like trailing stop losses to ensure they maximise these profitable trades. Conversely, experienced traders will acknowledge that with volatility wider margins are needed to give positions a chance and we’d therefore expect to see smaller positions run for larger moves. Stop losses are essential on all positions in these kinds of markets and experienced traders will expect to experience the odd tough day amongst the profitable ones..

4. You recently launched the new FP Markets Trading App. Can you tell us a little more about this and what clients can expect from it?

Launching the FP Markets Mobile Trading App was a key deliverable given modern traders need to be able to trade on-the-go and our app is both intuitive and feature-packed.

The FP Markets Trading App is available on all Android and iOS devices, and off trading on Forex and CFDs across shares, indices, commodities and cryptocurrencies. Not only can traders access 60+ Currency Pairs, they can also trade in more than 50 of the world’s biggest Stocks including Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon. FP Markets also offers leveraged trading on Commodities and more than a dozen Indices from the largest global exchanges. For traders who are interested in trading the emerging asset class that is Cryptocurrency with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ripple are all part of the product range.

5. It’s well-known that you have achieved some significant growth in the past few years with many awards going your way. Are there any new developments clients can expect from you over the coming year?

We will shortly be launching an exciting new product which will cater for the growing interest in social trading, which we are very excited about. We are also continuing to invest heavily in technology by further improving our platforms and client portal and, as always, the team is working tirelessly to strengthen our product-offering and pushing to improve our already market-leading trading conditions by putting clients’ needs at the heart of our offering. Another important factor as we expand operations globally is that we are continuing to invest heavily in people by building a global team to add to our elite team of industry professionals.