Investment Banking & Brokerage

The Federal Reserve raised its target range for the federal funds rate by a quarter point on Wednesday, Sept. 16, to 3.75% to 4%, its first rate increase since July 2023. Interactive Brokers estimates that a 0.25% rise in U.S. dollar interest rates adds about $81 million a year to net interest income, if maturing investments roll over at the new, higher rates, according to its latest quarterly filing. That $81 million amounts to about 2% of annualized net interest income and about 1% of total net revenues, and a corresponding quarter-point rise in non-U.S. dollar benchmark rates would add an additional $38 million a year. Net interest income, the broker's biggest revenue line, totaled $1.06 billion in the second quarter, more than half of the company's $1.9 billion in total net revenues, and grew 23% year over year even as the average federal funds effective rate fell to 3.63% from 4.33%, driven by balance growth. Average customer credit balances climbed by $41.7 billion year over year, average margin loans grew by $35.7 billion, and average segregated cash and securities increased by $19 billion, a pace that works out to nearly $790 million a year, almost ten times what one quarter-point hike is expected to add.

Goldman Sachs has pushed back on fears that U.S. corporate profits are in an "earnings bubble," even as it acknowledged some companies are "over-earning." Analyst Ben Snider noted that S&P 500 earnings per share grew 51% in the second quarter and 26% over the past four quarters, lifting profits well above their long-term trend. He added that while the index's forward price-to-earnings multiple of 19 is in line with its 10-year average, its multiple on trend earnings has been exceeded in recent decades only at the peak of the dot-com bubble. Still, Snider said, "our base case is for S&P 500 earnings growth to decelerate, not collapse, in coming years," forecasting EPS growth of 11% in both 2027 and 2028, to $415 and $460, respectively. The biggest long-term question is AI, he said, noting the investment boom has driven nearly half of this year's earnings growth, a tailwind that should fade in 2028 as capital spending slows and depreciation mounts, turning into a marginal drag. Snider also flagged risks from a potential fall in semiconductor prices, where an adverse scenario could cut S&P 500 earnings by about 10%, and from mega-cap technology firms' equity investment gains, which lifted second-quarter earnings by 12% but should diminish in 2027. He concluded that Goldman's 12-month S&P 500 return forecast of +14% to 8,700 reflects the view that earnings growth, rather than expanding valuations, will remain the primary driver of the bull market.

Canada has hired Morgan Stanley and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to advise on the sale of operating rights to the country's four largest airports, Bloomberg News reported. Prime Minister Mark Carney formally announced plans to seek private investment in the government-owned assets during a speech at an investment conference on Tuesday. The four busiest airports by passenger volume are Toronto Pearson International Airport and the hubs in Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary.

Cinda Securities announced that, due to its absorption and merger by CICC, it will no longer have independent legal entity status and will be deregistered. It submitted an application for voluntary delisting of its A-shares to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on September 18, 2026. The company will publish relevant announcements after the exchange accepts the application, and will publish the delisting announcement after approval by the exchange. Subsequently, the company will be delisted, and CICC will begin the share swap.

Goldman Sachs now expects the Federal Reserve to raise rates by another 25 basis points in October, after policymakers lifted the target range to 3.75% to 4%, according to Reuters. The bank's shares slipped approximately 0.1% to $937.26 on the revised call. Sixteen of 18 Fed officials see at least one more increase this year, while four anticipate two. Goldman's forecast remains an economic call rather than a guarantee that policymakers will follow that path. For the bank, further tightening cuts both ways: higher volatility can drive more hedging, trading and risk-management activity through its markets franchise, but pricier financing can cool acquisitions, delay equity offerings and pressure asset valuations.

Charles Schwab reported total client assets of $13.41 trillion for August 2026, up 19% year over year, driven by core net new assets of $64.8 billion, which surged 46% year over year. The company opened 424,000 new brokerage accounts during the month, up 11% year over year, while active brokerage accounts rose 6% to 40.1 million, banking accounts increased 13% to 2.4 million, and workplace plan participant accounts grew 5% to 5.9 million. Client daily average trades reached 9.8 million, up 37% year over year, margin balances soared 92% to $177.6 billion, transactional sweep cash rose 19% to $483.3 billion, and total money market fund balances reached $702.5 billion, up 6% year over year. Management's latest 2026 scenario calls for full-year net interest margin of 3.00%-3.10% and fourth-quarter net interest margin of 3.25%-3.30%, with average interest-earning assets reaching $453 billion at the end of August, up 9% from the prior-year month. Schwab's 2026 adjusted expenses are expected to rise 9.5-10.5% year over year, and over the past six months Schwab shares have gained 12.7%, underperforming the industry's 22.8% growth.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said at the Barclays 24th Annual Global Financial Services Conference on Sept. 16 that fixed income, currencies and commodities activity has been relatively softer in the third quarter of 2026, while equity trading has been very strong. The moderation follows a strong first half, when Goldman generated $6.24 billion in investment banking fees, up 52% year over year, and FICC revenues of $8.60 billion, up 9%, as Global Banking & Markets revenues climbed 35% year over year to $28.26 billion. Solomon also indicated that expenses are running higher amid elevated transaction volumes and accelerated technology investments, with non-compensation expenses expected to increase by more than $500 million sequentially in the third quarter. Citigroup management expects third-quarter markets revenues to grow in the mid-single digits year over year and investment banking revenues to rise in the low-single digits, while KeyCorp raised its 2026 revenue growth outlook to 8% from a prior target of 7-8%, citing non-interest income growth of 4-5% and net interest income growth of 9-11%.

Goldman Sachs Group is arranging a reported $22b AI chip financing package linked to Blackstone and Alphabet's Crux AI venture, working with Crux AI as part of a broader push to support capital-intensive AI infrastructure projects. The bank is simultaneously expanding its private equity alternatives platform with fresh fundraises across its global private markets franchise, including new West Street funds. Goldman Sachs Group, a US-based capital markets heavyweight with a reported $295.7 billion market cap, is leaning into both AI financing and alternatives as it seeks to tilt earnings toward steadier fee income and capital-light businesses. The reported $22b AI chip financing package plays directly into that capital-light financing thesis, keeping the bank close to high-demand AI infrastructure in the same way JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley pursue large tech-related financings. The missing piece, according to the report, is how consistently Goldman can turn these AI and alternatives mandates into durable, fee-based flows when analysts have already flagged pressure on expenses and some softness in fixed income trading.

Analysts at KGI Securities (Thailand) Public Company Limited have raised their 2027 profit forecast for KKP by a further 5% and moved their new target price to 145 baht from 125 baht, noting that KKP's investment banking business, or IB, has the potential to grow and create upside for the 2027 profit forecast after slowing over the past several years because of the lackluster outlook for the SET index. Revenue from the IB business stood at 145 million baht in the first half of 2026, down 16% from the same period, based on assumptions of IB fees of 312 million baht and 350 million baht for 2026 and 2027 respectively. The company kept its 2026 profit forecast unchanged but raised its 2027 profit forecast by 5% to reflect fee revenue growth accelerating to 17% from a previous estimate of 8%, and re-rated the PE to 14 times from 12.5 times, equivalent to a P/BV of 1.75 times, after shifting to 2027 forecasts. That represents a premium of about 30% over fair PBV, reflecting the ability to capture opportunities to increase ROE and a dividend yield as high as 7%.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said on the 16th that, regarding the outlook for third-quarter results, the securities division remains very strong on a relative basis, while the fixed income, currencies and commodities division is relatively somewhat softer, though September still has several weeks left. He spoke at Barclays' global financial services conference. On the 16th, Goldman's share price fell just under 4% from the previous day, underperforming further as bank stocks broadly weakened following the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates. FICC division net revenue had surged 32% year-on-year in the second quarter after falling 10% in the first quarter. Morningstar Research analyst Sean Dunlop said he was not particularly surprised, noting that he had assumed third-quarter investment banking revenue would fall 12% and FICC revenue would also fall 11%, and that the 'somewhat weak' view might actually be more constructive than his firm's forecast. According to U.S. research firm Dealogic, as of the 15th of this month, global investment banking revenue for the third quarter stood at 21.194 billion dollars, down from 23.765 billion dollars a year earlier.

24/7 Wall St. has set a $7.77 price target on Webull with a hold rating and 90% confidence, implying 10.25% downside from the current price of $8.66. The call follows a mixed stretch in which Webull's Q3 2026 revenue reached $198.83 million, up 26.7% year over year but missing consensus by 8.97%, with GAAP diluted EPS of $0.04 falling short of the $0.065 estimate, while the prior Q2 quarter delivered record DARTs of 1.6 million, up 62% year over year, and customer assets of $28.5 billion, up 79%. CEO Anthony Denier called the SEC's elimination of the Pattern Day Trader rule on June 4, 2026 the company's defining event for the quarter, and Q2 adjusted operating profit jumped 169% to $62.6 million. The bear case rests on an 88.09% effective tax rate, negative operating cash flow of $250.9 million in the first half of 2026, revenue concentration with two counterparties at 19% and 11%, and $50 million of promissory notes due April 2027, with a bear-case target of $6.65. Webull's $3.95 billion market cap remains far below Robinhood's roughly $87.3 billion, and its forward P/E of 173 looks aggressive next to Interactive Brokers and Charles Schwab, though the $100 million Pi Securities deal in Thailand, which closed on August 31, 2026, targets THB 200 billion in assets under management and international funded accounts have reached 810,000.

Gold.com Inc has announced a total dividend of $1.20 per share, comprising a $1.00 per share special dividend and a $0.20 per share cash dividend, with an ex-dividend date of 2026-09-16 and payment on 2026-09-28. The company's 12-month trailing dividend yield stands at 1.25%, while its forward dividend yield is 1.67%, and its annual dividend growth rate over the past three years was 10.10%. As of 2026-06-30, Gold.com Inc's dividend payout ratio is 0.27, and its profitability rank is 7 out of 10, with net profit reported in 9 of the past 10 years. Revenue has grown approximately 35.40% per year on average over three years, but earnings per share declined about 20.70% annually and five-year EBITDA fell 28.90%, trends that could pressure dividend coverage if they persist.

Charles Schwab is partnering with Anthropic to roll out the Claude for Financial Advisors tool across its RIA network, integrating the AI assistant into the workflows of more than 16,000 independent advisors that custody with Schwab. Claude is expected to support tasks such as drafting client communications, summarizing documents, and assisting with research for advisory teams. The rollout wires Claude into custody, CRM, planning and reporting systems for RIAs, part of Schwab's effort to make its advisor platform a stickier operating system rather than just a place to park assets, as it competes with rivals such as Fidelity and Morgan Stanley. The article flags cost and execution risk, noting that rising technology spending could outpace the benefits of deeper advisor engagement if the AI tooling complicates Schwab's tech stack or fails to deliver real time savings for advisors. Charles Schwab operates a large US wealth management and brokerage platform with a $185.6b market cap footprint.

Beyond Securities Public Company Limited, or BYD, has changed its name to BYDH Public Company Limited, or BYDH, effective from 16 September 2026. After that, Kingford Public Company Limited will change its name to Beyond Public Company Limited, or Beyond. BYDH will send consent request letters to customers to transfer their accounts and investment portfolios to the new Beyond Securities. On 26 October, employees along with all customer portfolios and accounts will be transferred to the new Beyond. This merger will lift its SET market share into the Top 5 and is expected to reach the Top 3 by 2027. Meanwhile, Kingford's existing customer base of approximately 50,000 accounts will help push assets under management and under advice at Beyond Securities to 100 billion baht by 2027.

The merger between Beyond Securities, or BYD, and Kingsford Securities was completed on September 16, with both companies renamed. Beyond Securities changed its name to BYDH Securities, or BYDH, while Kingsford Securities became Beyond Public Company Limited, or Beyond, effective September 16, 2026. BYDH Securities will send letters to clients seeking consent to transfer their accounts and investment portfolios to the new Beyond Securities. Between September 16 and October 26, 2026, BYDH Securities' employees, along with all client investment portfolios and accounts, will be transferred to the new Beyond Securities. Following the merger, the company aims to lift its SET market share into the Top 5 and expects to reach the Top 3 by 2027. The client base of the former Kingsford Securities, roughly 50,000 accounts, is expected to help push assets under the care and advice of Beyond Securities to 100 billion baht by 2027.

Interactive Brokers announced three new programs at Interactive Brokers Securities Japan Inc. designed to help investors manage trading costs and earn income on eligible cash and shares. The centerpiece is a more cost-efficient approach to margin financing in which clients who contribute cash toward a position are charged interest only on the amount financed rather than the full position value, an approach widely used in margin financing globally that Interactive Brokers is now bringing to investors in Japan. The other two programs follow the same principle: Gaika+ allows eligible non-JPY cash balances to generate income in yen through automatic overnight currency swaps, applying only when the non-JPY currency interest rate is higher than the yen interest rate, while the Stock Yield Enhancement Program lets eligible clients earn income by lending fully paid shares, with IBSJ paying clients 50% of the market-based borrow rate and disclosing both the market rate and the client's share. As an illustration, a ¥10 million position funded with ¥5 million in client cash and held for 12 months at IBSJ's interest rate of 2.466% would cost ¥246,600 annually if interest were charged on the full position, but costs ¥123,300 because interest applies only to the ¥5 million financed, a savings of ¥123,300, or 50%. Ramir Roque Cimafranca, Head of Interactive Brokers Securities Japan Inc., said the goal has always been to help Japanese clients get more from every yen they invest, and that the three programs put more of a client's portfolio to work across margin, cash and shares. Interactive Brokers Group is Nasdaq-listed, is a member of the S&P 500, serves more than 5.4 million client accounts and reports more than USD 960 billion in client equity worldwide.

The FTSE rebalance will take effect using closing prices on September 18. In the FTSE All World index, the Large and Mid cap group has no additions and four deletions: BTS, LH, SCCC and TU. The FTSE Small Cap index has six additions: BTS, FTREIT, LH, SCCC, THAI and TU, and three deletions: BLAND, SPCG and TPIPP. The Micro Cap index has ten additions: BLAND, EASTW, INSET, KLINIQ, SUC, SPCG, SRICHA, SCAP, SMT and TPIPP, and eighteen deletions: BYD, HENG, ILM, ILINK, MONO, NCAP, NOBLE, PCE, RPH, SMPC, SAV, VIH, SFLEX, SYNTEC, TEAMG, TIPCO, III and VIBHA. On the securities business merger, Beyond Securities Public Company Limited, or BYD, will be renamed BYDH Securities Public Company Limited. Kingsford Securities will then be renamed Beyond Securities Public Company Limited, or Beyond. BYDH Securities will send letters to customers seeking consent to transfer their accounts and investment portfolios to the new Beyond Securities. On October 26, employees of BYDH, formerly BYD, along with the investment portfolios and all customer accounts, will be transferred to the new Beyond Securities. This merger will lift the company's SET market share into the Top 5, and it is expected to reach the Top 3 by 2027. With the potential of roughly 50,000 former Kingsfords customer accounts, this will help drive assets under management and under advice at Beyond Securities to 100 billion baht by 2027.

Goldman Sachs raised $11.7 billion across a fresh group of private-equity funds through its asset-management arm, even as its shares fell approximately 2.6% to $963.55 on Tuesday. The haul includes $9.6 billion for West Street Capital Partners IX, $1.6 billion for an Asia-focused strategy and another $500 million for co-investment vehicles, putting roughly 82% of the total in the flagship fund, which has already deployed more than one-third of its capital. Goldman expects the money to be invested over roughly four to four-and-a-half years. Goldman Sachs Alternatives managed $459 billion at the end of June and is aiming for $750 billion by 2030, so the $11.7 billion raise represents about 2.5% of the current platform. The shares at $963.55 sit 16.33% above the GuruFocus GF Value estimate of $828.31, a premium that raises the bar for deployment returns, exits and recurring fee growth.

FG Nexus announced continued progress under its previously authorized common and preferred stock repurchase programs. Through September 14, 2026, the company repurchased approximately 4.0 million shares of its common stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $48.0 million, including commissions, representing approximately 46% of the common shares outstanding immediately before the program began, leaving 4,707,615 common shares outstanding as of that date. Under the separate preferred program, FG Nexus repurchased approximately 275,000 preferred shares for approximately $6.9 million, including commissions, or approximately 31% of preferred shares outstanding before the program, leaving 619,357 preferred shares outstanding. Both programs remain authorized and open-ended, with future timing and amounts depending on market conditions, available liquidity, applicable legal requirements and capital-allocation priorities. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kyle Cerminara said the repurchases reflect continued confidence in the company's capital-allocation strategy and its commitment to long-term stockholder value.

Goldman Sachs Alternatives has closed its latest private equity fundraising at $11.7 billion, the firm said on Tuesday. Of that total, $9.6 billion went to West Street Capital Partners IX, the ninth iteration of the unit's flagship buyout fund, while $1.6 billion was committed to West Street Asia Equity Partners I, an Asia-focused strategy, and $500 million flowed into co-investment vehicles. West Street Capital Partners IX drew commitments from institutional and high-net-worth investors across North America, Europe, and the Middle East, with Goldman Sachs and its employees contributing meaningfully, and the fund has already deployed more than one-third of its capital. Michael Bruun, global co-head of private equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, told Reuters the firm plans to deploy the capital over roughly four to four-and-a-half years, typically targeting businesses valued between $500 million and $2 billion to $3 billion and holding each position for four to five years. As of June 30, Goldman Sachs Alternatives managed $459 billion in assets under supervision, against a target of $750 billion by the close of 2030.

LPL Financial LLC announced that financial advisors Bill Wagner, Scott Sennett and Andrew Kocukov of Horizon Wealth Management Group have joined its broker-dealer and Registered Investment Advisor platforms. The Wichita, Kansas-based team reported serving approximately $385 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets and joins LPL from Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network. The ensemble practice, which also includes Operations Manager Julie Starns, focuses on retirees and individuals approaching retirement, with a majority of the practice centered on the distribution phase of clients' financial lives. Wagner said the team chose LPL for its technology, financial planning tools and dedicated service model, while LPL Chief Growth Officer Marc Cohen said the firm was honored to welcome the team. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. supports more than 32,000 financial advisors and approximately 1,100 financial institutions, servicing and custodying approximately $2.6 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets.

The Charles Schwab Corporation reported that core net new assets brought to the company rose 46% versus August 2025 to reach $64.8 billion, a record for the month of August. Total client assets equaled $13.41 trillion as of month-end August, up 19% from August 2025 and up 3% compared to July 2026. New brokerage accounts opened during the month totaled 424,000, an increase of 11% versus August 2025, while margin loan balances climbed 58% from year-end to $177.6 billion and daily average trades equaled 9.8 million. Transactional sweep cash increased $6.5 billion to end August at $483.3 billion, driven by continued client demand for long/short strategies. Schwab reported 40.1 million active brokerage accounts, 5.9 million workplace plan participant accounts and 2.4 million banking accounts as of August 31, 2026.

TMBThanachart Bank, or TTB, has launched its wealth management service My Wealth, partnering with Webull Securities Thailand, or Webull, to let customers invest in US stocks and ETFs through the ttb touch app. Kanokwan Phetpisitchot, Head of the Product Management Group for Banking Transactions and Financial Wealth at TTB, said Thais still hold mostly deposits, accounting for 57% of financial assets, while investment assets make up only 23%, below the global average of 45% and the US figure of 59%. The main target group is Mass Affluent customers with assets under management of 1 to 5 million baht, aged roughly 30 to 45. Naris Aruksakunwong, Head of Strategy and Digital at TTB, said My Wealth was designed under a customer-centric design concept, letting customers see an overview of all their assets, set investment goals, and receive recommended portfolios and portfolio adjustment advice. Chonladech Khemarattana, Chief Executive Officer of Webull, said the partnership combines TTB's strengths in wealth advisory with Webull's expertise in global investing. Customers with Superior, Reserve Gold, Reserve Platinum and Reserve Diamond status will receive special privileges on USD exchange rates and special interest of up to 3.65% per year for FCD e-Saving accounts linked to a Webull account, from 15 September to 31 December 2026. Customers who open a Webull account through the ttb touch app and then invest in US stocks or ETFs at 10,000 baht or more per transaction will receive Magnificent Seven shares worth 400 baht, from 15 September to 30 November 2026, subject to the specified conditions.

Huaan Securities announced that its fifth tranche of short-term financing notes for 2026 was fully issued on September 14, 2026. The notes, abbreviated as 26 Huaan Securities CP005, had a planned and actual total issuance amount of 1 billion yuan, a tenor of 192 days, an issue date of September 11, 2026, a value date of September 14, 2026, a maturity date of March 25, 2027, a coupon rate of 1.51 percent, and an issue price of 100 yuan per note. The relevant issuance documents have been published on the China Money website and the Shanghai Clearing House website.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced on September 14 that it had acquired an additional 27,180 Ethereum over the past week. As of September 13, its holdings stood at 5,956,378 ETH, equivalent to 4.9% of the total supply of 122 million coins. Total assets, including cryptocurrencies, cash, and securities, amount to $15.8 billion, with the acquisition cost estimated at about $68 million. Its staking balance as of September 7 was 5,067,309 ETH, accounting for 85% of holdings, with a seven-day yield of 2.62% annualized and projected annual staking revenue of $334 million. If the entire holdings were staked, that figure would reach $392 million. The company has set a goal of acquiring 5% of the total supply and has reached 98% of that target.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies bought another 27,180 Ethereum tokens last week, bringing its holdings to nearly 6 million ETH as it approaches its goal of owning 5% of the cryptocurrency's supply. In its Monday announcement, Bitmine said it held 5,956,378 ETH, worth approximately $14.89 billion, as of Sunday evening, representing roughly 4.9% of Ethereum's supply. The purchase was slightly smaller than the previous week's addition of 28,086 ETH, which lifted its holdings to 5.93 million tokens. Bitmine valued its total holdings at $15.8 billion, including its Ethereum, 212 Bitcoin, $549 million in cash and securities, and stakes in Beast Industries and Eightco Holdings worth $180 million and $98 million, respectively. About 85% of its Ethereum, or 5.07 million ETH, is staked, generating projected annualized revenue of $334 million at a 2.62% yield, and Chairman Tom Lee said revenue could reach $392 million if all its ETH were staked through MAVAN and its partners. Rival Ethereum treasury company SharpLink announced plans in August to stake $200 million through Lido, while Bitcoin treasury giant Strategy bought no Bitcoin in the week through September 13 and spent another $139 million buying back preferred shares.

Bitmine Immersion Technologies bought another 27,180 Ethereum over the past week, spending $68 million U.S. at an average price of just over $2,500 U.S. per token. The purchase brings the company's holdings to 5,956,378 ETH out of a circulating supply of 122 million tokens worldwide, leaving it 144,000 Ethereum short of its goal of owning 5% of circulating supply, or 6.1 million tokens. The company, led by Chairman Tom Lee, has added Ethereum every week since launching its crypto treasury strategy in June 2025. Lee said on social media that Ethereum's relative strength against Bitcoin is improving, which he called a bullish sign for the second largest crypto by market capitalization, and added that a U.S. Senate vote on the Clarity Act crypto market-structure legislation scheduled for Sept. 15 could be a bullish catalyst for Ethereum and other digital assets. ETH was trading at $2,504.70 U.S. on Sept. 14.

Goldman Sachs raised its 2035 forecast for humanoid robot shipments to approximately 6.5 million units, up from about 1.4 million previously, a nearly fivefold increase, in its recently published 80-page Physical AI report. The bank also lifted its 2030 forecast from 256,000 to 890,000 units and its 2026 estimate from 51,000 to 75,000, and now values the 2035 humanoid market at roughly $138 billion versus its previous $38 billion estimate. Goldman estimates each humanoid could carry $3,000 to more than $6,000 of semiconductor content, which at 6.5 million units would translate into roughly $19.5 billion to $39 billion of annual chip demand. The bank expects logistics and warehousing to lead adoption, with automotive manufacturing following, and estimates Amazon's broader automation efforts could produce about $72 billion in cumulative service-cost savings from 2026 through 2030, potentially adding as much as 240 basis points to operating margins in an upside scenario. Goldman still flags reliability, limited real-world training data, autonomy and cost as obstacles, while Morgan Stanley has predicted 1 billion humanoid robots by 2050 and RBC Capital Markets calls it a $9 trillion market by then.

Webull announced that eligible customers will gain access to CME Group's E-nano S&P 500 and E-nano Nasdaq-100 futures, expanding the platform's futures offering with smaller-sized contracts. The CME Nano Futures are ultra-small equity index contracts sized at one-tenth of comparable CME Micro E-mini futures, allowing investors to take positions with less notional exposure and potentially lower dollar margin requirements. Anthony Denier, Group President and U.S. CEO of Webull, said the addition reflects the company's vision of evolving alongside individual investors, while Tanmay Sheth, FCM Product Head for Futures and Prediction Markets at Webull, said the launch gives customers a more accessible way to participate in major equity index markets. Eligible customers with an approved Webull futures account can trade the contracts alongside existing futures products using the same tools, subject to applicable account, margin, risk and jurisdictional requirements. CME Nano Futures are expected to be available to eligible Webull customers in mid-September.

Interactive Brokers Group is expanding its global market access while posting sharp growth in client accounts and assets. The company now connects investors to more than 170 market centers across 40 countries and supports 29 currencies, and in May 2026 it became the first major U.S.-based broker to offer seamless access to equities listed on the Korea Exchange, opening clients to South Korea's more than $4-trillion equity market. In August it added Brazilian futures through the B3 exchange and introduced access to Romanian equities through the Bucharest Stock Exchange, and last month it expanded funding options for clients in Latin America through a collaboration with Paysafe's SafetyPay. The company ended August 2026 with 5.46 million client accounts, up 35% year over year, while ending client equity increased 35% to $962.8 billion, client margin loan balances surged 41% to $101.5 billion and client credit balances climbed 27% to $185.6 billion. For the second quarter of 2026, Interactive Brokers posted adjusted earnings of 69 cents per share, up 35% year over year, on net revenues that climbed 28% to $1.9 billion, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 stands at $2.68 and $3.17, implying year-over-year earnings growth of 22.4% and 18.1%, respectively.

Morgan Stanley has continued to expand its Bitcoin position as its MSBT fund sees sustained inflows amid growing demand from its customers. The bank's Bitcoin holdings have now crossed $609 million following the aggressive purchase. The expansion is tied to sustained inflows into its MSBT fund, which the bank attributes to growing demand from its customers.