Brokerage group Taurex recently rebranded its B2B division from Zenfinex to Taurex Prime. There was even a heady event in Cyprus to celebrate the name change back in June.
With that in mind, we thought it would be an opportune moment to talk to Angelo Pieries, Commercial Director at Taurex and a key member of the institutional team.
We discuss why the rebrand happened, who Taurex Prime is serving, and what institutional clients want from their liquidity provider today.
Taurex has had an institutional arm for a while under the Zenfinex brand. Why did you decide to rebrand your institutional offering to Taurex Prime?
It was a decision we felt strongly about, and one that made sense strategically. Zenfinex served us well, but it was important to align our institutional arm directly with the Taurex brand. A large part of Taurex’s retail success comes from its liquidity infrastructure, and the rebrand allows us to highlight that strength to existing and potential future partners. The launch at the Cyprus iFX Expo confirmed the move was the right one — engagement from partners was strong, and it’s clear that our offering is valued in the market.
Can you say who you are serving with that entity?
Our first clients were brokers looking for liquidity, and we then expanded into funds, algo houses and prop firms. Each segment operates differently, but adapting to those models is something we’ve become very good at. It’s helped us grow quickly across the FX/CFD space, and Taurex Prime is now positioned to be recognised as a leading institutional brand with the expertise to support a wide range of business models.
Every client is different, but are there any general themes or problems you see brokers facing on the institutional side that come up frequently today?
Spreads, execution and infrastructure come up a lot, which is surprising because they should be the basics in this business. The one that always stands out to me is trust. Too many firms have been let down by their counterparties. I make it clear from the start that we deliver on what we promise, and more often than not we go further. That sets the tone for a transparent, win-win relationship.
One of the key offerings you have under Taurex Prime is for prop trading. How popular has that been? Risk management is also a huge problem for props, so what solutions can you offer for that?
Prop firms have changed the industry, and they are one of the client groups I enjoy working with the most. They move fast and think differently, and we support them with the infrastructure they need to grow. That includes platforms, data, clearing and, just as importantly, guidance on risk. Our background in both retail and institutional means we know what works in practice, not just on paper.
Liquidity provision seems like it’s almost as competitive as the B2C space now. What does Taurex Prime bring to the market that others don’t have?
I would have to say that we mostly compete on customer service and sheer dedication to help our clients in the best way possible. We also have an a-z offering, which includes a wide range of instruments, a flexible approach when it comes to agreeing to commercials and in-depth knowledge on all three fronts; retail, prop and institutional. This really gives an edge, as we see the industry from multiple angles, and can often guide our clients who may sometimes be less experienced than us on other aspects of their business. We don’t stop just at providing liquidity.
A lot of B2B clients tend to be other retail-facing brokers. But firms also get customers like gold dealers or other companies that may need to hedge or trade in some way. Do you have any of those sorts of clients and do they tend to be trickier or easier to deal with?
We spent many years building a very nimble infrastructure, so handling hedging flow isn’t really an issue. In fact, it contributes a surprisingly significant percentage of our revenue, which gives us more avenues for hedging purposes. This segment of our institutional offering is growing and gaining momentum, and we fully welcome that growth.
A big problem brokers face is dealing with scammers and abusers. For example, gold traders in some countries can be a big problem. As a provider to other brokers, what can you do to support brokers fight against that activity?
Given our success in the retail world across multiple regions, we have developed approaches that work. This includes superior and sometimes costly technology, along with highly experienced staff. Our institutional clients benefit from all the mistakes, experiments and lessons learned by our risk team whilst bolstering our retail division.
You’ve brought in a few execs to grow Taurex Prime. You’ve just done the rebrand. Can we expect anything else in the near term, like new hires, products, or features?
Our goal is always to bring new products and services that help our clients grow. Because our customers are based all over the world, we see first-hand what is valuable in different regions. We use that insight to prioritise the ideas that will deliver the most impact. I believe we have already made working with a liquidity provider much easier, and there are more developments in the pipeline. While I cannot share details yet, we will communicate them in advance through our site, so I would say stay tuned.
