Singapore's CFD Market is Healthy Though Waning, as CMC Markets Clean up Industry Awards

SINGAPORE, Dec. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The opinions of Singapore's CFD traders have been laid bare through the findings of the 2013 Investment Trends Singapore CFD & FX Report. Among its key findings:

• Singapore's CFD market remains healthy, though the number of traders has declined significantly this year
• Phillip CFD remains Singapore's biggest CFD provider in terms of market share
• CMC Markets had a clean sweep of Client Satisfaction Awards voted for by CFD traders

CMC Markets clean up with all Client Satisfaction Awards
The annual report collates the findings of surveys completed by over 10,000 investors, including traders of CFDs -- financial derivative products known as contracts for difference -- in Singapore. This produces the most comprehensive insight available into the Singapore CFD market.

Based on their research, Investment Trends names award winners, recognising the highest client satisfaction with CFD providers in certain key categories, as voted for by Singapore's CFD traders. CMC Markets were rated the CFD provider with the highest overall client satisfaction, and won all individual awards voted for -- sharing one -- as outlined below.

Phillip CFD remains Singapore's biggest CFD provider by primary relationships.

Jason Hughes, Head of Sales Trading of CMC Markets added, "While we welcome awards as recognition of past performance, especially those voted for by Singapore's CFD traders, we have more work to do. Led by client feedback, we've recently fixed mistakes we've made, and improved our proposition across the board."

Market statistics
Over 17,000 people in Singapore currently trade CFDs, and a further 11,000 plan to start doing so in the next year. While demand remains healthy, perhaps the most striking of the report's findings is the 23% contraction of the CFD market in the last year. This is a significantly higher decline than in other regions researched by Investment Trends (the UK, Australia, France and Germany).

Commenting on this, Hughes said, "The regulatory controls over opening CFD accounts in Singapore, such as the Customer Knowledge Assessment, are more restrictive than in other countries, such as the UK and Australia. This means that traders of CFDs with Singapore-based brokers are among the world's most financially astute. The flipside is that less financially astute traders -- those who are more vulnerable -- can only trade CFDs with brokers based offshore, without the same controls and protection. This remains a 'hot topic' in the industry."

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About CMC Markets
CMC Markets is a leading global provider of Contracts For Difference (CFDs) and Foreign Exchange (FX). Founded in 1989, the company serves over 75,000 clients worldwide. In 2012, CMC Markets executed over 33m trades with a value of more than 1.2tr pounds. With 13 offices around the world - in major markets such Australia, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain -- CMC Markets has been active in Singapore from its Raffles Place office since 2007.

Committed to raising industry standards through innovation in the way people invest in financial markets, CMC Markets Singapore offers a wide range of global CFD products, such as Shares, Forex, Commodities, Indices, Treasuries and Forwards CFD.