Recent data from the Investment Company Institute shows a clear market direction: investors consistently moved more capital into multi-asset ETFs through late 2024. This is a fundamental change in how today's traders and investors build their portfolios.

For brokerages, this shift renders the single-asset model obsolete. This article provides a strategic analysis of why the future belongs to multi-asset brokerage platforms, detailing the necessary technology and the roadmap required to lead in this new environment.

Key Takeaways

• Offering multiple assets is a strategic business decision that diversifies a brokerage's revenue, reduces market-cycle risks, and significantly increases client retention.

• The performance of a multi-asset brokerage depends entirely on a seamlessly integrated technology stack, as fragmented systems create critical inefficiencies.

• Leveraging a turnkey ecosystem from a technology and liquidity partner is the most efficient strategy for rapid market entry, bypassing the significant cost and time of proprietary development.

The Rise of Multi-Asset Brokerages

The brokerage industry is changing fast. A few years ago, most firms focused on a single asset class — forex, crypto, or equities. Today, that approach no longer fits how traders operate. Multi-asset access is becoming the new normal, driven by user demand, platform innovation, and broader shifts in market structure.

Demand Is Moving Beyond Specialisation

Traders are no longer content trading just one market. A typical client might trade forex in the morning, follow crypto headlines in the afternoon, and take positions on gold or stocks in the evening — all from the same account.

This demand is measurable. Multi-asset investment strategies have grown rapidly: global AUM in this category rose from under $2 trillion in 2003 to over $16 trillion by 2023. That’s roughly 13% of all assets managed globally — and still climbing, according to FTSE Russell.

This growth indicates a clear trend: investors want to manage all their exposure in one place. A platform that forces them to split their workflow is at risk of losing them altogether.

Technology Is Finally Making It Possible

For years, the challenge wasn’t desire — it was infrastructure. Most trading systems weren’t designed to handle multiple asset classes in real time. Liquidity, risk, reporting, and margin engines were siloed by asset type.

That’s no longer the case. Platforms B2TRADER were built with multi-asset functionality from the ground up. FIX connectivity to prime liquidity providers now supports forex, crypto, indices, and more — through a single connection.

Meanwhile, global demand is pushing the software market forward. The online trading platform segment was worth $7.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $9.8 billion by 2030. Add to that the rise of digital asset platforms, which are expected to grow at 25% CAGR, and the direction is clear.

Brokers Are Adapting — and Growing

For brokers, offering more assets isn’t just a user feature. It’s a way to boost volume, reach new client segments, and reduce reliance on a single market’s performance.

Brokers that introduced new asset classes in 2023–24 saw trading activity jump by up to 40% quarter-over-quarter, according to multiple market studies. That kind of growth is hard to ignore — and even harder to match with a single-asset strategy.

Benefits of Multi-Asset Coverage

The shift toward multi-asset brokerage is about solving practical problems for traders and unlocking new growth levers for brokers. Offering a wide range of tradable instruments provides measurable advantages across the board — operationally, strategically, and financially.

For Traders and Investors

A growing number of traders want more than just forex or crypto. They want flexibility, diversity, and seamless control over how they allocate their capital, especially in uncertain markets.

Portfolio Diversification

Spreading exposure across asset classes helps limit downside during market volatility. A weak day in FX may be balanced by strong moves in commodities or crypto. Diversification reduces over-reliance on any single instrument or market.

All-in-One Convenience

Multi-asset platforms allow traders to manage all positions from one account. There’s no need to switch apps, logins, or platforms — which saves time and simplifies decision-making.

Flexible Market Access

Traders can respond to different macro trends. Inflation fears? Hedge with commodities. High interest rate speculation? Shift toward currencies or equities. Broader access means more ways to adapt.

Unified Risk Management

Integrated trading environments give users real-time visibility over all positions. This allows for more accurate margin management and more informed portfolio decisions.

For Brokerages

Multi-asset coverage is a practical way to grow volume, improve user loyalty, and hedge revenue risk.

Higher Client Lifetime Value

Traders who use multiple instruments tend to stay longer and trade more frequently. Giving them what they need in one place keeps them engaged.

Revenue Stream Diversification

Different asset classes perform at different times. A brokerage that offers crypto, stocks, and forex can generate stable commission and spread income regardless of market cycles.

Lower Churn

When clients need to switch platforms to access new markets, they often don’t come back. A multi-asset solution reduces this risk by increasing daily utility.

Scalability and Differentiation

A multi-asset model positions a brokerage as a modern, full-service provider — attractive to both beginners and experienced traders. It also reduces dependence on seasonal cycles or regional market behaviour.

Technology Stack Considerations for a Multi-Asset Brokerage

Transitioning to a multi-asset model is as much a technological challenge as it is a strategic one. Your technology stack is the engine that powers your entire operation, and it must be robust enough to handle the complexities of diverse asset classes seamlessly.

Simply bolting new assets onto an old system creates inefficiency and risk. A true multi-asset brokerage cannot be an afterthought; it requires a purpose-built infrastructure from the ground up to succeed and scale effectively in today's competitive market.

The Core: A Flexible Trading Engine and Platform

The client's entire experience revolves around the trading platform. It is the face of your brokerage. An effective multi-asset trading platform must therefore provide a single, unified interface where a user can manage their entire portfolio with ease and clarity.

Key platform requirements include:

Unified User Interface (UI): One login, one wallet, and one portfolio view. Traders expect to see and manage everything—from forex to crypto and stocks—in one place.

High-Performance Trading Engine: This is the brokerage's central nervous system. It must process market data, match orders, and calculate margin in milliseconds across all assets.

Advanced Charting and Tools: Professional tools must work consistently across all instruments, empowering traders with the data they need for informed decision-making.

Liquidity and Connectivity: The Fuel for Trading

A brokerage is only as good as its execution. To offer a wide variety of assets, you need reliable access to deep multi-asset liquidity. This is achieved through sophisticated aggregation and modern connectivity solutions that work behind the scenes.

Let's look at the key components:

Liquidity Bridge: This is a vital piece of modern brokerage technology solutions. The bridge connects your engine to multiple liquidity providers, aggregating quotes to ensure clients always receive the best available price.

Prime Brokerage Technology: Accessing institutional liquidity is simplified through prime brokerage technology. A Prime of Prime partner provides a single gateway to top-tier liquidity, ensuring competitive spreads and reliable execution.

Risk Management and Back-Office: The Control Centre

Managing risk across assets with different volatility profiles is a major challenge. An integrated risk management system that sees the whole picture is therefore non-negotiable for the security of both the broker and the client.

A unified system gives a real-time, holistic view of the broker's exposure. It automatically calculates complex margin requirements for each asset class. Without this, a broker is effectively flying blind and exposed to significant financial risk.

The same principle of unity applies to your back office. A single, integrated CRM should handle everything from client onboarding (KYC) and payments to reporting and IB management. A fragmented back office only creates administrative headaches and operational bottlenecks.

The Integration Imperative: Avoiding a Fragmented System

The most common mistake is creating a "stitched-together" system where different assets run on separate tech silos. This approach is ultimately doomed to fail, as it creates a poor user experience and an inefficient operation.

This fragmentation leads to a disjointed journey for the trader, involving multiple logins or difficulty moving capital. For the broker, it means higher costs, increased risk, and an administrative nightmare that hinders growth.

A successful multi-asset brokerage is built on a foundation of seamlessly integrated technology. The platform, liquidity, risk engine, and back-office must work as one unit to ensure scalability and provide the superior trading experience modern investors demand.

Case Studies: Multi-Asset Success Stories

The right technology sets the stage for growth, but what does that success actually look like in practice? The industry is filled with examples of brokers who transformed their businesses by embracing a multi-asset strategy. These stories prove it's a winning formula.

Let's examine two landmark cases, reinforced with hard data, that show how this strategy creates undeniable market leaders.

The FinTech Pioneer – Saxo Bank

Founded in 1992, Saxo Bank quickly identified the limitations of a single-asset focus. The firm recognised an emerging need among traders for a single, professional environment to manage a global portfolio, well beyond the scope of just the forex market.

A key inflexion point was the 1998 launch of SaxoTrader, one of the industry's first fully integrated online multi-asset platforms. This significant investment in proprietary technology became the core of their value proposition and growth engine.

This technology-first approach directly fueled their expansion. The platform's capabilities enabled Saxo Bank to grow to over 1.2 million clients and accumulate client assets exceeding €114 billion, a scale unattainable with a fragmented or limited offering.

Saxo Bank's history demonstrates that early and sustained investment in a unified, high-performance platform creates a long-term, defensible competitive advantage in the brokerage space.

The Global Market Leader – IG Group

IG Group began in 1974 by innovating a new product: a way for clients to trade gold prices as an index. While they grew to dominate the CFD and spread betting markets, their evolution was dictated by a clear strategic necessity.

As the market matured, client retention became dependent on meeting the growing demand for a broader asset range. A business model focused solely on derivatives was insufficient to retain clients who also wanted to trade equities and other instruments.

In response, IG methodically expanded its offering beyond derivatives into direct share dealing, now providing access to nearly 19,000 distinct financial markets. This diversification is a core pillar supporting their global client base of over 346,000 active traders.

Their status as a long-standing member of the FTSE 250 Index confirms the success of this model. By diversifying, IG built a more resilient, high-revenue business that thrives regardless of market cycles in any single asset class.

Scaling with B2BROKER: From Strategy to Reality

The success stories of huge financial institutions prove the power of the multi-asset model, but replicating their decades of proprietary development is not feasible for new or scaling brokers. The modern path is to leverage a ready, holistic ecosystem.

This is where a technology and liquidity partner like B2BROKER becomes a strategic enabler. We provide the integrated infrastructure needed to launch and scale a competitive, full-service multi-asset brokerage quickly and efficiently.

Core Technology and Diverse Asset Access

The client experience is defined by the capabilities of the multi-asset trading platform. Our flagship B2TRADER platform is engineered to seamlessly manage a wide spectrum of instruments — from Forex and CFDs to spot crypto and the newly integrated Perpetual Futures.

This platform's versatility is underpinned by B2CONNECT, our proprietary crypto liquidity hub. It serves as the technological bridge connecting our clients to an institutional-grade, multi-asset liquidity engine. At the same time, we provide aggregated liquidity across 10 distinct asset classes, ensuring deep order books and competitive execution.

A Complete, Turnkey Brokerage Infrastructure

Beyond the trading engine and liquidity, we provide the entire operational backbone. B2CORE serves as the central CRM and back-office, streamlining everything from client onboarding and payment processing to affiliate program management.

For brokers seeking maximum speed to market, we offer comprehensive White Label forex brokerage solutions. The cTrader White Label package delivers a complete brokerage infrastructure built on one of the industry's most powerful and reputable platforms, enabling a world-class launch in record time.

Ultimately, B2BROKER delivers a cohesive, plug-and-play environment. We eliminate the technological friction, allowing you to focus on growing your business and serving your clients in the multi-asset future.

Final Remarks: The Future is Your Decision

The message from the market is clear: today's traders don't operate in silos, and neither should their brokers. Offering a wide range of assets on a single, easy-to-use platform has become the new baseline for keeping clients engaged, growing trading volume, and building a truly resilient business.

Within the next several years, a multi-asset offering will be a core expectation of your potential clients. Your brokerage will be judged on the variety of markets you provide and how well your technology handles them.

Transitioning to a multi-asset brokerage model requires a reliable partner. B2BROKER offers a complete suite of technological solutions and institutional liquidity, designed to help you stay ahead of market demands and accelerate your growth.