FNG Exclusive Interview… Retail FX and CFDs broker Purple Trading has been working with prop trading firms for a long time via its Seychelles based entity, and a couple years ago spun out its own prop firm brand, Fintokei, which has been focused mainly on the Japanese market.
Now expanding to the EU and globally, we thought it would be a good time to catch up with Purple Trading co-founder, and also co-founder of Fintokei, David Varga, and get his unique perspective on the growth of the retail prop trading sector, his advice to new prop startups, and how the online brokerage sector engages the prop space. Here is what he had to say.
FNG: Hi David, and thanks for joining us today. Purple Trading, as an online broker, has been working with prop trading firms for a long time – I believe that you were one of the brokers serving FTMO in the industry’s early days. How did the decision come about to launch your own brand, Fintokei? And how did you decide to have Fintokei focus initially on the Japanese market?
David: Thank you for having me. The decision to launch Fintokei stemmed from our extensive experience with prop trading firms and a desire to offer something that the industry was missing.
Furthermore, Fintokei nicely complements all the ecosystem that we were building for the past 15 years – brokers, payment providers, portfolio management company. Japan was chosen as a market completely untouched by prop trading boom, so we saw a lot of potential there. It’s not easy to get in, but we already had a lot of experience and connections in Japan, and that helped us to kick it off successfully. And I am happy to say that Japanese traders love the concept and our approach.
FNG: How have you decided to differentiate Fintokei from what seems to have become an increasingly crowded prop trading space?
David: What I missed in the industry is a more serious, reliable and long-term oriented firm, backed by a broker, and with innovative approach to the product offering. Thanks to our background, advanced technology and infrastructure our customers can enjoy a wide selection of platforms and very convenient trading conditions, including scalping, EAs, or news trading being completely allowed as an example.
In combination with comprehensive educational materials the traders are not only equipped with the best resources but also empowered to continuously improve and achieve long-term success.
FNG: We understand that you now plan to expand the Fintokei brand into Europe, through your Purple Ventures roots as one of the leading Czech early stage venture capital firms. What are your EU expansion plans? (And beyond?)
David: Our expansion will focus on key European markets such as Italy, Germany, UK or Poland, leveraging our experience from Purple Trading and Purple Ventures.
Beyond Europe, we are exploring opportunities in regions with high demand for innovative trading solutions, such as Southeast Asia, or LatAm. Ultimately, we aim to establish Fintokei as a reputable global brand recognised for its excellence within the trading education, evaluation and funding space.
FNG: Back to Purple Trading for a moment. As a broker with arguably the most experience working with prop firms, what do you see that prop firms do well, and alternatively not so well? Where do you see the prop trading industry going?
David: I think it’s great that prop firms brought many people into trading, and the whole concept is fascinating and brings a lot of added value for customers.
However, many firms often struggle with managing risk, cashflow, and ensuring long-term sustainability. Due to extremely low barriers of entry I also believe the industry has gone a little too wild in terms of competition, marketing, way of communication or even running the whole business operations, including some dirty practices happening.
We therefore foresee a more serious and professionalized approach is the future for prop trading, with an emphasis on transparency and stability. Whether it will be enforced by regulation, or evolve naturally.
FNG: What advice do you have for those looking to launch a new prop trading firm, or to seriously expand an existing brand? What does Purple Trading have to offer startups and up-and-coming prop firms to help ensure their success?
David: I would definitely advise them to focus on a quality tech and trade execution setup, on risk management and on finance management, including a simple yet often overlooked rule – to make enough reserves.
As regarding to Purple Trading or Fintokei, we can definitely help with all of the above, and can offer various types of B2B partnerships or advisory.
FNG: What else can we expect to hear from Fintokei and the Purple group in the coming months?
David: Our ultimate goal is to help as many traders as possible to accelerate their trading journey, start a trading career and earn more. Basically to be some sort of an incubator that creates and nurtures trading talents.
We always want to deliver exceptional value to our traders and partners, staying at the forefront of the industry, so you can expect even more educational programs, popular platforms and trading tools that will support this vision.
