Customer numbers soar on DbFX as retail foreign exchange grows as asset class of choice for investors

DbFX.com saw global customer numbers increase by over 250%, as investors looked to FX as an alternative, and uncorrelated, asset class to equities and bonds. Volumes also notably increased from 2007, as investors took advantage of significant volatility in the market.

Middle Eastern trading volumes for DbFX increased by 226% between Q4 2007 and Q4 2008 as a growing number of investors in the region moved into FX.

From a currency perspective, the EUR/USD was the most popular currency pair on the platform for Middle Eastern FX traders accounting for 83% of all trades, versus 53% of volume the previous year, an increase of 57%.

This concentration of EUR / USD trading indicates that DbFX clients from the Middle East focused on the most liquid currency pair with the tightest spreads.

The group of currencies representing carry trades was only 24% of volume in 2008 versus 36% in 2007, as the carry trade - the dominant trading strategy in 2007 - lost popularity with investors who moved out of leveraged currencies as global interest rates fell last year.

Betsy Waters, Global Director of DbFX.com, commented:

"Retail FX's popularity as an asset class truly soared in 2008 from a customer and trading perspective. Our more than doubling of customer numbers can be partly attributed to today's uncertain economic environment with investors wanting the safety of knowing their capital is with a provider which is backed by a larger, well-recognised institution such as Deutsche Bank, the world's leading FX bank. Our success can also be attributed to the institutional-quality research and superior service we offer our customers on a daily basis."

Waters added, "Looking ahead, we're bullish about the long term prospects for retail FX. As active traders become disenchanted with the equity markets they will turn to the FX markets for trading opportunities. In many countries, retail traders can only buy and hold equities, while FX markets offer the ability to buy and sell currencies based on your market views. On this basis, we're also optimistic about the prospects for FX trading growth in the Middle East."

"Ultimately, FX is proven to be uncorrelated to bond and equity markets, so it's no surprise that retail investors are looking to FX, which is a proven asset class with institutional investors as a means of generating returns," concluded Waters.

Launched in 2006, DbFX.com is available in multiple languages, has 34 currency pairs and is accessible in more than 70 countries around the world. It brings the benefits of Deutsche Bank's award winning expertise in foreign exchange to clients, with Deutsche Bank ranked the No. 1 Foreign Exchange Bank in 2008 by Euromoney magazine for the fourth year running.