Cyprus-based broker XM is planning on adding cryptocurrency products and physical share trading to its offering.
The company is hiring for trading specialists for both crypto and cash equities.
The job spec for the latter role notes that the firm is looking to hire an executive for share dealing services, implying this is not just for CFDs on underlying stocks.
For the equivalent crypto position the job spec notes that the broker is looking to add both spot and derivatives products, including what you can infer would be perpetual futures.
It’s unclear as to what brand the broker would actually add these products too.
Currently XM runs several brands for different regions.
The most likely outcome is that this will be for the firm’s Trading.com brand. This is aimed at more tightly regulated markets and is available in the UK, European Union, Australia, and – more unusually – the US.
The decision to add the products reflects a conundrum that many firms are facing about whether or not to move beyond being a pure play CFD broker.
Going multi-product has helped, particularly in Europe, to bring in more clients, with cash equities and spot crypto helping to attract a broader client base and acting as a useful marketing tool, due to the looser marketing restrictions they face compared to CFDs.
However, other products are lower revenue generating and bring in huge client volumes that may not be profitable for the firm. Brand can also be damaged as firms shift from being perceived as a place to trade and instead become something like an investment platform.
The ideal goal is thus to have spend bringing in higher client volumes but in such a way that a sufficient number switch into higher value products to justify doing so. This is something XTB and Trading 212 have achieved in the Poland and the UK respectively.
