Fastest growing UK CFD brokers
Investment research firm Trading Authority — utilising proprietary datasets, deep networks, and artificial intelligence to derive insights — estimates that the number of consumers trading CFD products every month will reach 720,000 in the second half of 2021, and has tracked three of the fastest growing platforms in the UK right now.
Skilling — a new entrant to the UK market with an intuitive platform and trading app is one such, its growth attributed to factors such as the lockdown effect of the pandemic driving more and more people to the advantages and convenience of online transactions, Bitcoin’s rise and the subsequent flurry of media attention, and the drop in bond prices.
As with any online trader ‘worth its salt’, Skilling has been vetted by UK watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offers over 800 instruments. It has offices in the UK, Malta, Spain, and Cyprus. Another of the best Forex trading platforms in the UK — as rated by Trading Authority — is eToro, a soon-to-be public company with its roots in Israel. London-listed Plus500 is also highly regarded and has been operational since 2008, with subsidiaries regulated in several other countries, including Singapore and Australia.
Over 1m CFD-funded retail client accounts were counted in 2020, along with 110 trading platforms licensed by the FCA. The spectacular growth has been fuelled by the popularity of tech and ‘meme’ stocks, and short-term speculation has become the order of the day — often accelerated by the power of social media forums on Reddit, Twitter, and Discord. Online communities such as Wallstreetbets — popularised by traders on the US RobinHood platform — have also driven the surge of interest. Crowdsourced investment theories, memes, and screengrabs depicting extraordinary profits precipitated trade in US retailer Gamestop, which saw its stock price skyrocket by as much as 134% in one day in January 2021.
Multi-asset trading platform targets UK for strategic growth
Vantage FX, a multi-asset trading platform for retail and professional traders, has also been making news, announcing a series of significant upgrades to its UK services. Following a period of extensive market research to find out what UK traders’ value, Vantage FX has introduced several new features and services encompassing diverse products, easy access, and a smooth user experience, all provided at a market-leading cost.
“This marks a new chapter for the UK business” – David Shayer, Vantage FX
David Shayer, UK CEO of Vantage FX, says: “This marks a new chapter for the UK business. We’ve been building up to revitalising our UK service and these first updates will help make the traders life as straightforward as possible. But this is just the beginning. In the coming months, my role will be to roll out our vision piece by piece, ensuring everything runs smoothly. We want to be the go-to broker in the UK and a valuable source that can educate traders, whether amateur or veteran. The ongoing expansion of these services means we’re on a big recruitment drive and have recently bolstered our sales and marketing departments. I’m extremely excited to see what we achieve in the months to come.”
The modern trader expects mobile access, with around 90% now trading on mobile. Seeing this demand, Vantage FX has launched a UK specific app that allows users to trade anywhere, anytime. Traders are also increasingly keen to have a one-stop-shop where they can trade a wide range of assets. As such, Vantage FX has introduced more of the most popular UK trading instruments, as well as cryptocurrencies for the professional market.