FNG Exclusive Interview… After our FNG Exclusive report from earlier this week that former INFINOX CEO Jay Mawji has joined the STARTRADER group – to help launch and run its new STARprime institutional brand – we’re pleased to sit down today with Jay and discuss in more detail his move to STARTRADER, his plans for STARprime, and a whole lot more.

FNG: Hi Jay, and thanks for joining us today. Please let us know a little more about the STARTRADER group – and how, after 15 years at INFINOX, you decided to join STARTRADER.

Jay: Thank you for the time and opportunity to talk through these recent changes.

I completed my exit from INFINOX at the start of 2025 and planned to take a break. It was a dedicated 15 years, and we, as a team, have had some incredible achievements… Plus I had a lot of ‘normal life living’ to catch up on.  After our shareholder group exited through the sale last year, it was best for me to make space and allow the new shareholders to appoint their ExCo and take the business in a different direction.

The team behind STARTRADER and I have been close friends for many years; the phone rang, a question was asked, and my answer was always going to be “yes, let’s do something great together.” We spent some time working through the STARTRADER business, and it was clear how much of an ‘underrated’ brand it is. They have all—and more!—technology and operational infrastructure than most of the firms in our industry.  The team are really passionate, and their output was so high, which reflects in their KPI performance of the business.

FNG: How was the decision made at STARTRADER to expand its traditional retail business into liquidity and prime brokerage solutions?

Jay: The current product offering in the retail space is well-developed, with a wide range of instruments, a CRM that enhances client experience, and a well-designed mobile app.

Coupled with a proven formula and a clear development strategy, there wasn’t much that needed to be added to the Retail/Partner business.

The underlying trading technology from the retail side of the business provided a good base from which to build a liquidity (prime) solution. The team already has the governance, balance sheet, and skillset to build out a prime offering—I think a lot more can be done in this space, and STARTRADER has the key elements to build STARprime out to be an industry leader.

FNG: What are your main target markets at STARprime? What kind of clients are you looking to work with?

Jay: We have the perfect offering for small to medium-sized brokerages. With our background in the retail space, we truly understand how these brokerages operate, what solutions they genuinely need, and how to deliver them effectively.

We are interested in being an integral part of how other brokerages succeed; that is the true value in all of this – contributing to the overall betterment of our industry.

FNG: The liquidity/PB space, especially those who serve FX and CFDs brokers, seems to be somewhat crowded, with a number of well-capitalized, entrenched incumbents. How will you look to differentiate STARprime, as a preferred partner for brokers and others in the business?

Jay: Being well-capitalized is the minimum requirement of ‘coming to the table’. The key turners for us are the relationships we have with external providers (Upstream Liquidity, Bridge Providers, Trading Technology, Regulators, etc.). Leveraging these relationships to build solutions for clients and working with our clients in a personable and professional manner creates a true partnership.

We aren’t aiming to be the ‘biggest’, we are aiming to set the standard.

FNG: What changes do you see on the horizon for the online trading industry? How is STARprime planning to position itself as the industry evolves?

Jay: I see 3 main thematic developments in our industry:

1. Risk Management – having a strong understanding of the flow coming through your desk, optimising it for execution and revenue.
2. Governance – with the development of AI and the continual maturing of market participants, more should be and is being expected of firms to operate to higher standards.
3. Offering – our industry has the unique position of being one of the quickest adopters of instruments and products; it’s on us as providers to be at the front of expanding this out.

Our goal is to set the standard – it’s a big statement but it reflects our ambition to be the absolute best we can in every constituent part of our offering, then do it better, and that will translate into real value for our clients.

FNG: What else can we expect to hear from STARTRADER and STARprime in the coming months?

Jay: We have just come to the end of our ‘Regulatory Strategy Cycle’ with the addition of the SCA license. The scene is set for a strong commercial push that will come with elevated levels of service and relationships, as well as a very attractive offering. There is a stream of recent hires—and more in the pipeline—of some of the best talent in the industry, which will add to the great team that is already at STAR.

There are blueprints across the table for expanding the core offering—all in good time!