Published : 3 years ago, on 06/05/2022

1.In your opinion, how have investors’ needs changed over the last years? 

Investors’ underwriting criteria when it comes to choosing a broker to trade or invest with has definitely changed a lot over the last decade, and certainly even more so over the last couple of years. Unsurprisingly, during the pandemic, people became more interested in the financial markets and more aware of the importance of planning for their financial future. As people were confined to their homes, we saw a surge in popular interest in the financial markets, while the number of investors looking into ways to self-manage their wealth also increased. That being said, investors’ expectations of brokers have also evolved. Environment, transparency, profitability, and performance are some of the fundamental drivers for traders when choosing a broker to invest with. 

In layman’s terms, investors will typically opt for a regulated broker that combines an extensive suite of tradable assets at competitive pricing with exclusive tools and excellent opportunities for both trading and learning. In my experience, in the financial services industry, client experience is the true differentiator. One of the most significant pillars on which any business is built on is “trust” — this is why at BDSwiss we give our clients the tools and education they need to truly understand our trading products. In this way, we communicate to them that we are investing in their education and are committed to creating long-term and transparent relationships with them. 

By offering direct access to the financial arena, alongside the education necessary to prosper there, BDSwiss has become one of the fastest-growing brokers in the world. Our success is built on cultivating trust and driven by tech innovations that allow our clients to navigate the markets and manage their portfolios on a day-to-day basis.

2.What big developments in the fintech industry have you observed in 2021? What challenges can we expect the forex industry to face in 2022 and beyond, and how can brokers overcome these challenges? 

2021 marked another turbulent year for the financial markets, but it was a remarkable year for fintech innovation and growth. While undeniably the rise of online investment fintech companies ushered in a new era of financial inclusion, disrupting many business verticals, in 2021 we saw another paradigm shift when it comes to fintech adoption. During the past year, there has been a surge in interest in fintechs able to bring new avenues of finance, new forms of currency, and new methods of payment to businesses and investors. 

As interest and investment in fintech continues to grow significantly in many regions of the world — its scope broadens well-beyond its early definition. This expanding scope, combined with the growing maturity of a number of fintech subsectors, increasing investment in less mature jurisdictions, and surging corporate interest, is expected to keep the fintech momentum high well beyond 2022. 

When it comes to online trading, the rise of ‘super apps’ brought forth a wave of digitalisation, democratisation and financial inclusion, with more and more people shifting away from the incumbent “traditional banking services” of brick-and-mortar institutions and opting to bank, trade, and invest digitally with a challenger bank or neo-broker fintech company. That being said, fintech companies, although making a technological revolution, are currently faced with a number of important challenges. Some of the bigger challenges include lack of trust, low transparency and cybersecurity breaches. 

To ensure long-term success, companies will need to remain vigilant and proactively address these broader industry challenges and while there is no “panacea” to help brokers overcome these issues, investing in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is imperative for any fintech business today. In fact, at BDSwiss, we have been able to circumvent a great number of challenges by implementing a solid ERM programme which not only ensured our risk management processes transpired across all operations; but also helped us diversify potential concentration of risks where needed, while also remaining highly agile in dealing with “black swan” events.

3.Recently the company expanded its products offering. Could you describe the value for the consumers and what innovations or product goals expected in 2022?

In line with our mission to democratise finance for all, at BDSwiss we have always committed to continue to deliver a world-class trading experience by providing our clients with the tools, support, and education they need to forge their financial future. 

Earlier this year, we introduced 900 publicly traded stocks and ETFs from some of the world’s largest exchanges, enabling our traders to invest with or without leverage and benefit from zero commissions and the opportunity to receive dividends on eligible stocks. Our StockPlus Account was designed to lower the barrier to entry with a low deposit threshold, while also offering a simpler and more affordable way to start investing in a diversified stock portfolio with fractional stocks and ETFs available from as low as $1. StockPlus is currently only available under our brand’s FSC and FSA entities, but we hope to soon make this product available to all our clients. 

More recently, we have also expanded our CFD cryptocurrency lineup under our FSC and FSA entinities and are currently working on adding even more instruments and investment vehicles that cater to clients with different risk appetites and objectives. Looking to the future, we will continue to innovate and introduce new investment verticals as we become a comprehensive one-stop-shop where traders and investors of all calibers will be able to manage every aspect of their finances on a single platform.

About BDSwiss:
BDSwiss is a leading financial services group of regulated entities, offering bespoke CFD trading and investment products to more than 1.5 million registered clients, in over 180 different countries. Since its inception back in 2012, BDSwiss has been providing top-class products, a wide range of platforms, competitive pricing, and fast execution on more than 1000 underlying instruments including leading company stocks and ETFs at direct market access as well as hundreds of CFDs including forex, shares, commodities, and indices. BDSwiss complies with a strict regulatory framework and operates its services on a global scale under a number of different licences and registrations.