MIG Capital targets retail FX traders in eastern and southern Europe, says CEO Cirulli

Margin foreign exchange broker MIG Capital is targeting growth in southern and eastern Europe as equities trading suspensions and a thirst for algorithmic trading drive retail traders into foreign exchange, says chief executive Federico Cirulli in London.

MIG Capital, a subsidiary of MIG Bank, received its licence from the UK Financial Services Authority in May last year but began its marketing efforts in earnest in September. According to Cirulli, the broker has since seen demand for margin foreign exchange trading from eastern Europe and, notably, Spain, Italy, France and Greece following a series of equity trading suspensions put in place in recent years.

Last July for example, Italy and Spain reinstated a temporary ban on short selling on exchanges as shares in the countries' banks plummeted. The suspensions were first introduced in 2011 by both countries as well as in France and Belgium, to combat collapsing equities markets as the European sovereign debt crisis continued to unfold.

"As a result, traders and investors started moving into the FX markets," says Cirulli. "There is also growing interest in algorithmic trading, particularly in eastern Europe, because you remove the psychological and emotional aspect. Trading via our algorithmic trading tool Expert Advisors represents 60–70% of our client activity."

By the second quarter, Cirulli expects to roll out a customised version of the MetaTrader4 platform currently in use, which will include one-click trading. He also plans to introduce MetaTrader5 this year with key upgrades including support for first in, first out, iPhone and iPad, and multi-asset trading. "So you can trade foreign exchange, shares and futures from the same platform," he says.

A risk facing the broker this year, however, is a repeat of the subdued trading environment of 2012, says Cirulli, where volumes dropped from an exceptionally volatile 2011. "Lack of volatility might be the challenge this year but as the FX market starts to mature, demand in the product will grow and I am fairly confident that MIG Capital will play a key role in this market," says Cirulli.

He explains that its use of the agency model and publicly available price mark-ups will support the development on credibility in the market. "Nowadays the biggest challenge is that there are so many unregulated brokers that clients really don't know where they are putting their money or who they are dealing with," says Cirulli. "So full straight-through processing, clear mark-ups and a parent that is a Swiss bank gives confidence to our clients."

Cirulli joined the company in January 21 having previously worked at rival broker CMC Markets as head of southern Europe. Prior to that, he was chief executive at Activtrades.

He replaces Bertram Seitz, regional director for business development, who has since left the company, and works closely with Paul Chrimes, chief operating officer.

Both report to Hisham Mansour, chairman of MIG Capital and chief executive of MIG Bank, in Neuchatel.