Barclays Stockbrokers has teamed with California-based Integral Development to launch a spot FX trading service for private investors on its Barx platform.
Barclays Stockbrokers says FX on Barx offers leveraged spot trading for the world's most liquid currency pairs and is designed to provide private investors with pricing, tools and services for effective participation in the FX markets.
Clients using the service will have access to a range of trading features such as advanced order types, sophisticated charting, technical analysis tools and a fully integrated and automatic risk management and system alerting capability. The trading platform also enables clients to access accounts through both desktop and browser-based software.
Barclays Stockbrokers says it launched the service after conducting research that showed 16% of retail investors trade FX, while more than a quarter (26%) are looking to trade FX in the future. The firm also cites figures from the Bank for International Settlements showing a 70% increase in monthly trading volumes in the retail FX market.
Tom Ryan, head, proposition, Barclays Stockbrokers, says FX spot trading has moved from the exclusive domain of the institutional trading desk to the active trader's laptop in line with the increased sophistication of the private client community.
"FX on Barx from Barclays Stockbrokers will empower self directed investors to trade seamlessly across all major FX liquidity markets worldwide, twenty four hours a day, six days a week," says Ryan.