Better the Devil You Know
Two of the most revealing figures in Plus500’s H1 2025 results were 84% and 47%. The first of these was the percentage of revenue generated by clients who had traded with the firm for over 12 months, and the second was the percentage generated by traders with more than five years’ experience.
Of course, you cannot please all the people all the time. One trader observed that it would be encouraging to see the improvement in broker offerings matched by an increase in active trading of FX and CFDs, and more traders making money on these products.
However, these figures are a reminder that it is more cost-effective to drive additional revenue from existing clients than to spend money on marketing to customers of other brokers, who might jump ship again as soon as they get a better offer.
Research by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company – the creator of the Net Promoter System, which helps businesses grow by using customer feedback to build loyalty and improve experiences – shows that increasing customer retention by just 5% can boost profitability by as much as 95%.
You may also like: Plus500 to Desktop Users: Thanks, But Mobile’s Got This
One of the observations from this year’s iFX EXPO in Cyprus was the sense that brokers had shifted their focus from solely acquiring new deposits to maximising the value of their existing client base.
A specialist who works with brokers to boost trading volumes and reduce churn noted that many firms were failing to make the most of customer engagement tools, by placing too much emphasis on data at the expense of creating a compelling investment narrative.
Another key to success lies in re-energising dormant trading account holders. The largest players may be able to sustain millions of effectively inactive accounts, but smaller brokers with relatively higher acquisition costs, who need to extract maximum value from every account, don’t have that luxury.
In this context, personalisation has already worked for challenger banks, so there is no reason why brokers cannot make it even easier for customers to access personalised content and recommendations based on their previous trading history.
Taking Down the Props
When author Douglas Adams was asked when The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy would finally be made into a film, he reportedly said, ‘any century now’. Those waiting for regulators to lay down some rules around prop trading will know how he feels.
We all know there are challenges to regulating an activity that doesn’t fit into an existing framework, and where a large amount of the trading is simulated. But there is a feeling that regulation would remove a lot of bad actors from the prop space.
Siju Daniel, Chief Commercial Officer at ATFX, told me earlier this year that the feasibility of entering the prop space depends on the broker’s model and risk appetite. Although it is likely that more brokers will join the prop market, regulatory uncertainty means it is understandable why larger companies would hesitate to jump in.
Read more: B-Booking Is Risky for CFD Prop Firms, but What Is the Alternative?
During a session on prop trading at the Finance Magnates Africa Summit 2025, it was suggested that regulators struggle to define the model because it doesn’t involve client funds – but that informal enforcement mechanisms were already in place.
The panel described social media as a powerful tool for accountability and argued that informal enforcement mechanisms are already at play.
The prop trading industry has attempted to go down the route of self-regulation with the establishment of The Prop Association (TPA), whose services include certification and external dispute resolution.
Blueberry Funded became the inaugural founding member firm in April – referring to ‘increasing uncertainty around future regulation and diminishing trust among traders due to bad actors’ – and was joined the following month by FPFX Tech, whose CEO observed that ‘regulation protects the end customer’ and that his firm supported regulation and accountability in the prop trading industry.
Lux Trading Firm is also listed as a founding member, while Funded7 has since joined the association. However, this membership accounts for a small percentage of the overall industry, suggesting that many props remain to be convinced that self-regulation is the way forward.
Will Traders Follow Brokers to Dubai?
The trading ecosystem in Dubai continues to evolve. In the past few weeks alone, RAKBANK became the first conventional bank in the UAE to enable crypto trading services for its customers in partnership with Bitpanda, while the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority issued regulatory approval to offer OTC crypto options to Nomura subsidiary Laser Digital.
It has also been reported that Robinhood is stepping up its plans to establish an office in Dubai and has applied to the Dubai Financial Services Authority for a licence that would enable it to service clients in the UAE and other parts of the region.
Social media is awash with videos claiming to reveal the secrets to successfully relocating to and trading in Dubai. There are a number of options for achieving residency, the most obvious of which is to establish a free zone company.
Related: Exinity and VT Markets Secure Category 5 Licence in Dubai
There are several reasons why traders might relocate to Dubai. Its geographical location facilitates easier access to Asian and European markets; local trading infrastructure is robust; and the network effect is growing.
The regional director of one FX broker observed that Dubai is attracting retail traders from Europe as well as Asia and Africa, while the CEO of another noted that traders based in the UAE executed more trades than their counterparts in any other market last year.
If optimistic predictions for growth in the domestic stock market come to pass, it is easy to see why retail traders looking for an edge – and willing to relocate to achieve it – could be attracted in growing numbers.
Better the Devil You Know
Two of the most revealing figures in Plus500’s H1 2025 results were 84% and 47%. The first of these was the percentage of revenue generated by clients who had traded with the firm for over 12 months, and the second was the percentage generated by traders with more than five years’ experience.
Of course, you cannot please all the people all the time. One trader observed that it would be encouraging to see the improvement in broker offerings matched by an increase in active trading of FX and CFDs, and more traders making money on these products.
However, these figures are a reminder that it is more cost-effective to drive additional revenue from existing clients than to spend money on marketing to customers of other brokers, who might jump ship again as soon as they get a better offer.
Research by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company – the creator of the Net Promoter System, which helps businesses grow by using customer feedback to build loyalty and improve experiences – shows that increasing customer retention by just 5% can boost profitability by as much as 95%.
You may also like: Plus500 to Desktop Users: Thanks, But Mobile’s Got This
One of the observations from this year’s iFX EXPO in Cyprus was the sense that brokers had shifted their focus from solely acquiring new deposits to maximising the value of their existing client base.
A specialist who works with brokers to boost trading volumes and reduce churn noted that many firms were failing to make the most of customer engagement tools, by placing too much emphasis on data at the expense of creating a compelling investment narrative.
Another key to success lies in re-energising dormant trading account holders. The largest players may be able to sustain millions of effectively inactive accounts, but smaller brokers with relatively higher acquisition costs, who need to extract maximum value from every account, don’t have that luxury.
In this context, personalisation has already worked for challenger banks, so there is no reason why brokers cannot make it even easier for customers to access personalised content and recommendations based on their previous trading history.
Taking Down the Props
When author Douglas Adams was asked when The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy would finally be made into a film, he reportedly said, ‘any century now’. Those waiting for regulators to lay down some rules around prop trading will know how he feels.
We all know there are challenges to regulating an activity that doesn’t fit into an existing framework, and where a large amount of the trading is simulated. But there is a feeling that regulation would remove a lot of bad actors from the prop space.
Siju Daniel, Chief Commercial Officer at ATFX, told me earlier this year that the feasibility of entering the prop space depends on the broker’s model and risk appetite. Although it is likely that more brokers will join the prop market, regulatory uncertainty means it is understandable why larger companies would hesitate to jump in.
Read more: B-Booking Is Risky for CFD Prop Firms, but What Is the Alternative?
During a session on prop trading at the Finance Magnates Africa Summit 2025, it was suggested that regulators struggle to define the model because it doesn’t involve client funds – but that informal enforcement mechanisms were already in place.
The panel described social media as a powerful tool for accountability and argued that informal enforcement mechanisms are already at play.
The prop trading industry has attempted to go down the route of self-regulation with the establishment of The Prop Association (TPA), whose services include certification and external dispute resolution.
Blueberry Funded became the inaugural founding member firm in April – referring to ‘increasing uncertainty around future regulation and diminishing trust among traders due to bad actors’ – and was joined the following month by FPFX Tech, whose CEO observed that ‘regulation protects the end customer’ and that his firm supported regulation and accountability in the prop trading industry.
Lux Trading Firm is also listed as a founding member, while Funded7 has since joined the association. However, this membership accounts for a small percentage of the overall industry, suggesting that many props remain to be convinced that self-regulation is the way forward.
Will Traders Follow Brokers to Dubai?
The trading ecosystem in Dubai continues to evolve. In the past few weeks alone, RAKBANK became the first conventional bank in the UAE to enable crypto trading services for its customers in partnership with Bitpanda, while the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority issued regulatory approval to offer OTC crypto options to Nomura subsidiary Laser Digital.
It has also been reported that Robinhood is stepping up its plans to establish an office in Dubai and has applied to the Dubai Financial Services Authority for a licence that would enable it to service clients in the UAE and other parts of the region.
Social media is awash with videos claiming to reveal the secrets to successfully relocating to and trading in Dubai. There are a number of options for achieving residency, the most obvious of which is to establish a free zone company.
Related: Exinity and VT Markets Secure Category 5 Licence in Dubai
There are several reasons why traders might relocate to Dubai. Its geographical location facilitates easier access to Asian and European markets; local trading infrastructure is robust; and the network effect is growing.
The regional director of one FX broker observed that Dubai is attracting retail traders from Europe as well as Asia and Africa, while the CEO of another noted that traders based in the UAE executed more trades than their counterparts in any other market last year.
If optimistic predictions for growth in the domestic stock market come to pass, it is easy to see why retail traders looking for an edge – and willing to relocate to achieve it – could be attracted in growing numbers.
