London, UK - October 13, 2010 - The rapidly expanding foreign exchange (forex) markets have attracted a new, sophisticated breed of individual trader focused almost entirely on forex, according to the first phase results of the CitiFX Pro Forex Trader Survey 2010. This first-ever industry wide survey of forex traders was sponsored by CitiFX Pro and conducted in partnership with major forex media outlets including FXstreet.com, ActionForex, ForexPros and ForexTV. CitiFX Pro provides experienced, individual forex traders and small institutional clients, electronic access to the forex market.

This international survey, conducted in September 2010 and based on online responses from over 3000 individuals, draws the first comprehensive portrait of the individual forex trader. A high percentage of respondents (63 percent) concentrate exclusively on foreign exchange and said that forex is the only asset class they trade. Of those who also trade other asset classes, 71 percent trade equities, with substantial numbers (47 percent and 31 percent) trading commodities and options, respectively.

"The first phase of the survey results, focusing on the profile and working environment of the forex trader, draws a picture of traders who are focused primarily on the foreign exchange markets," said Sanjay Madgavkar, Global Head of Margin Foreign Exchange trading at Citi. "The survey also shows a relatively high proportion of respondents trade the markets as full-time professionals."

Almost 40% of respondents said they trade forex full time, and more than 45 percent have spent over $1,000 on books, conferences, DVDs and other educational resources, with almost 10% having spent more than $10,000. Traders get their information from a wide range of sources, with Internet finance sites ranking first at 63%, followed by online forums at 38%, information provided through a bank or broker at 34%, blogs, at 33%, and the trader's own network of contacts at 26%.

"The survey demonstrates the importance of market information to forex traders," said Mr. Madgavkar. "More than a third of respondents cited research and commentary, such as that provided by Citi, as a preferred source of information." While many respondents are new to forex trading -- with more than threequarters (77 percent) of survey respondents saying they had begun trading forex in the last five years -- respondents included a large number of experienced traders. More than 20 percent have five years or more experience, and six percent have been trading for more than 10 years.

Detailed survey results can be found here. The second part of the survey results, including information about trading habits, will be released early in November.

About CitiFX Pro

CitiFX Pro is Citi's online forex trading platform for active individual and small institutional clients including commodity trading advisors, broker-dealers, money managers, and hedge funds. CitiFX Pro is currently live in US, European and Asian markets and will be launched in additional regions in 2010. Additional information may be found at www.citifxpro.com.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

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