When it co​mes to ope​ning your own bro​ke​ra​ge - sta​r​ting is the ha​r​de​st part. Be​fo​re you add​re​ss the que​stions of client ma​na​ge​ment, cost and pro​mo​tion, it’s vi​tal to take a look at the core ele​men​ts that will de​fi​ne your bu​si​ne​ss.

So what does a bro​ke​ra​ge need?

1. Pla​tfo​rm

Back in the day, bu​yers and se​llers were con​ne​cted by means of a tra​ding floor and a pho​ne. Nee​dle​ss to say, that’s no lon​ger the case. A tra​ding spa​ce as we know it to​day is an on​li​ne tra​ding pla​tfo​rm, whi​ch is ba​si​ca​lly a co​mpu​ter so​ftwa​re pro​g​ram used to pro​ce​ss fi​nan​cial ma​r​ket tran​sa​ctions. Any bro​ker has the choi​ce of bui​lding a pla​tfo​rm of their own or re​so​r​ting to thi​rd-pa​r​ty so​lu​tions, whi​ch si​g​ni​fi​can​tly lo​wer co​sts and allow for con​stant pro​fe​ssio​nal su​ppo​rt.

It goes wi​thout sa​ying that pla​tfo​rm choi​ce is one of the most cru​cial pa​r​ts of your bro​ke​ra​ge, espe​cia​lly as a sta​r​tup, as this is whe​re your tra​ders will be spen​ding their time and mo​ney. If a pla​tfo​rm is low on fea​tu​res, has mu​lti​ple bugs, or doe​sn’t keep up with to​day’s re​tail ma​r​ket de​man​ds, it’s hi​g​hly li​ke​ly your tra​ders will opt for ano​ther bro​ke​ra​ge si​mply due to lack of app​re​cia​tion for their tra​ding spa​ce.

1. CRM

To​day, data is ever​ything. Your Cu​sto​mer Re​la​tion​ship Ma​na​ge​ment System (CRM) is one of the too​ls essen​tial to the fun​ctio​ning of your bro​ke​ra​ge bu​si​ne​ss. Re​lying on sp​rea​dshee​ts is ha​r​dly an option in the pre​sen​ce of advan​ced so​ftwa​re syste​ms that ga​ther data and ma​xi​mi​ze in​te​ra​ction with your exi​sting and po​ten​tial cu​sto​mers, as well as In​t​ro​du​cing Bro​kers (IBs).

When app​roa​ching lea​ds, a CRM gran​ts your sa​les team a trea​su​re che​st of in​fo​r​ma​tion as to cu​sto​mer tra​ding activi​ties and client in​fo​r​ma​tion. Fu​r​ther, for conve​nien​ce pu​r​po​ses, a good CRM system to​day in​clu​des po​wer​ful back offi​ce too​ls and pa​r​t​ner po​r​ta​ls, aids at or​ga​ni​zing KYC co​mplian​ce, and he​lps convert cu​sto​mers in the most effi​cient man​ner po​ssi​ble.

1. Li​qui​di​ty Provi​der

Li​qui​di​ty provi​ders (LPs) offer li​qui​di​ty so​lu​tions to bro​kers - this in​clu​des not just li​qui​di​ty but also st​rea​ming pri​ce feed data nee​ded by your pla​tfo​rm. You need to con​si​der nu​me​rous fa​cto​rs when pi​cking a li​qui​di​ty provi​der: from a long-stan​ding tru​st re​co​rd in the in​du​stry, to mu​lti-asset li​qui​di​ty options, a deep or​der book, a la​r​ge in​st​ru​ment list for a ge​ne​rous tra​der offe​ring, a qui​ck exe​cu​tion and re​lia​ble fee​ds.

It is fu​r​ther advi​sed to choo​se a re​gu​la​ted li​qui​di​ty provi​der for sa​fe​ty pu​r​po​ses, as con​t​ra​cts with un​re​gu​la​ted LPs have left many bro​kers in the lu​r​ch in the past.

1. PSP

A Fo​rex bu​si​ne​ss can be​ne​fit from the servi​ce of a PSP - Pa​yment Servi​ce Provi​der. Bro​ke​ra​ges re​qui​re pa​yment syste​ms and so​lu​tions to cover va​rious me​tho​ds of de​po​si​ts and wi​thd​ra​wa​ls. Typi​cal co​mpli​ca​tions lie in ju​ri​sdi​ctio​nal re​gu​la​tions, as well as high tran​sa​ction vo​lu​mes, whi​ch are typi​cal of the in​du​stry.

You’d also want to cover your clien​ts’ pre​fer​red pa​yment me​tho​ds, whi​ch typi​ca​lly in​clu​de cre​dit and de​bit ca​r​ds, bank tran​sfers and ele​ct​ro​nic wa​lle​ts. Se​cu​ri​ty must alwa​ys be ca​te​red for, the pa​yment in​ter​fa​ce shou​ld be si​mple, and pa​ymen​ts must go th​rou​gh swi​ftly. Althou​gh it may not seem like much, many esta​bli​shed bro​kers can tell you that fin​ding a tru​ly re​lia​ble PSP took a fair sha​re of their time. Re​sea​r​ch and a ca​re​ful se​le​ction pro​ce​ss is a must.

1. We​bsi​te

Your we​bsi​te is your bu​si​ne​ss card. If so​meo​ne de​ci​des to che​ck out your we​bsi​te and stu​mbles upon a poo​r​ly de​si​g​ned, hard-to-navi​ga​te, no-con​tent or con​tent-over​loa​ded page - you are li​ke​ly not to sco​re them as a client. Having a good de​si​gn, ba​cked by SEO-opti​mi​zed con​tent (so you appear at the fo​re​f​ront of Goo​g​le sea​r​ch re​su​lts) is a must, as is pa​cking your we​bsi​te with all the in​fo​r​ma​tion your clien​ts need to know. Make your offe​rings and plans appa​rent and en​su​re your we​bsi​te appea​rs si​mple and in​tui​tive.

Ano​ther thu​mbs up wou​ld be to in​clu​de a page on your co​mpany va​lues and sta​ff. This wo​r​ks up a per​so​na​li​zed feel and gran​ts a ne​wco​mer that sen​se of sa​fe​ty that is grea​tly la​cking on the fo​rex are​na.

The​se are the five ele​men​ts you rea​lly can’t deal wi​thout when sta​r​ting out on your jou​r​ney, but of cou​r​se, it’s ha​r​dly all. Stay tu​ned for our ar​ti​cle se​ries, as we go from ba​si​cs of sta​r​ting a bro​ke​ra​ge to true de​pths of ma​king your bu​si​ne​ss stand out in the ma​r​ket.