Author: Chain Wire

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, September 8th, 2026, FinanceWire

Ninth edition proceeds as planned, bringing the industry together as the sector moves through a period of rapid platform and technology change.

Dubai’s business calendar picks up pace after the summer lull, and this September, the global trading and fintech community comes together at Forex Expo Dubai, taking place 22-23 September 2026 at Dubai World Trade Centre, Halls 1-5.

What Attendees Can Expect

Across the five halls, the event brings together more than 250 exhibitors and 150 speakers, traders, introducing brokers, investors, brokerages, liquidity providers, payment providers and trading-technology firms — building on an edition that already holds a Guinness World Record for attendance at a forex exhibition.

“Preparations for this year’s event are on track, and the dates and venue remain unchanged,” said Niyaz Mohammed, Commercial Director at HQMENA. “Sponsors and exhibitors who’ve been with us before are back this year, and we’re seeing new brands join alongside them. Everything is moving as scheduled, and we’re excited for what this edition has in store.”

Beyond the exhibition floor, conference sessions will cover affiliate models built around client quality over deposit volume, portfolios designed to hold up across shifting policy and commodity regimes, and what trader behaviour data reveals about platform and risk design.

An Expo Built for Different Goals

The event introduces dedicated experiences for Verified Traders, Introducing Brokers and Affiliates, helping exhibitors connect with audiences based on their role and interests. Eligible attendees also have a shot at winning a share of 160 grams of 24-karat gold in the Gold Lucky Draw.* Private meeting zones, live product demonstrations and side events before and after the expo extend the experience further.

*T&Cs apply.

Dubai’s business and events calendar continues to run through September without disruption, and exhibitors, sponsors and attendees will be kept updated through official channels in the lead-up to the event.

About Forex Expo Dubai

Forex Expo Dubai is one of the region’s leading gatherings for the global online trading and fintech industry, bringing together brokerages, fintech innovators, institutional traders, investors, payment solution providers, IBs, affiliates and online trading technology companies under one roof. The expo serves as a platform for industry dialogue, business networking, technology showcases, and market-focused conversations shaping the future of modern finance.

Contact

Commercial Director
Niyaz Mohamed
HQMENA
Sales@hqmena.com

New York, NY, September 7th, 2026, FinanceWire

Private AI equity fund becomes one of the first investment vehicles in the world to integrate a purpose-built LLM into the daily management of a live equity portfolio

Cipheras Group, the investment manager of Apex AI Fund, today announced the full deployment of its proprietary large language model, Apex LLM v2.4, as a core analytical component of the fund’s live investment process. The model has reached 290 billion parameters trained on financial and technology-sector data, and is now processing in excess of 2.4 million data points daily with an average signal latency of 94 milliseconds.

The deployment positions Apex AI Fund among the first private investment funds globally to integrate a purpose-built, proprietary large language model into the active daily management of a live equity portfolio.

A Model Built for Investment Intelligence

Apex LLM v2.4 was developed exclusively for financial investment analysis and trained on a proprietary corpus comprising SEC filings, earnings call transcripts, patent application databases, academic AI research literature, GitHub repository activity, corporate job posting data, and structured financial market data. Unlike general-purpose commercial language models, it is purpose-optimised for investment signal generation within the artificial intelligence sector.

The system processes six primary data source categories simultaneously and delivers structured signals to the fund’s investment team in near real time. Critically, Apex LLM v2.4 does not make autonomous investment decisions. All signals are reviewed by the human investment team before any portfolio action is taken.

“We did not build this model to replace judgment — we built it to protect it,” said Sahasra Deekonda, Chief Risk Officer of Apex AI Fund. “The most dangerous moment in investment management is when you miss something important because there was simply too much to read. Apex LLM v2.4 means we never miss the signal that matters. The decision, however, will always rest with the humans in the room.”

Documented Signal Performance

Since deployment, the system has generated multiple actionable signals acted upon by the investment team. Among the most significant: the LLM identified a surge in TSMC capacity booking disclosures six weeks before NVIDIA’s Q2 2025 earnings call confirmed the supply ramp, enabling the fund to increase its position ahead of the announcement. The system also flagged governance anomalies in a fund holding within 24 hours of the relevant filing, triggering a position review that materially limited the fund’s downside exposure. Additionally, profitability trajectory analysis identified the probability of a major portfolio holding’s S&P 500 inclusion eleven weeks before the official announcement.

“Building a large language model trained on financial data is not a marketing exercise for us — it is a competitive necessity,” said Dr. Thrisha Ganesh, Co-Founder and Head of Research at Apex AI Fund. “The volume of material that becomes public every single day through filings, transcripts, and research is simply beyond what any human team can absorb at the required speed.”

About Apex AI Fund

Apex AI Fund is a private equity fund investing exclusively in publicly traded companies at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution, managed by Apex Capital Intelligence LLC. The fund launched in September 2022 with initial positions in NVIDIA, Micron Technology, Palantir Technologies, and a concentrated group of AI infrastructure companies. Since inception, the fund has delivered a cumulative net return of +348%, averaging more than 75% per fiscal year. The fund manages approximately $134 million in assets and accepts investors with a minimum initial investment of $5,000. No management fee, sales fee, or redemption fee is charged. A tiered performance fee applies exclusively to net profits.

www.cipheras.com

Contact

PR
Katherine Doherty
Cipheras Group
info@cipheras.com

Geneva, Switzerland, September 7th, 2026, FinanceWire

Swiss-regulated bank brings AI-powered trading, 25,000+ stock CFDs and a new flagship app to clients in a single innovation drive

Dukascopy Bank SA, the Swiss-regulated bank and online trading institution with over 400,000 clients worldwide, recently announced a series of platform launches that collectively represent the most significant expansion of its digital offering in the bank’s history.

Dukascopy has introduced three transformative products: an AI-powered trading integration that makes Dukascopy one of the first Swiss banks to enable clients to execute trades through AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude, a major extension of its trading offer with access to more than 25,000 CFDs on stocks and ETFs, and a new flagship banking application.

The First Swiss Bank to Enable AI-Powered Trading via MCP

In the most technically distinctive of the three launches, Dukascopy has deployed a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows clients to connect AI assistants (including ChatGPT and Claude) directly to their JForex trading accounts. Through natural language instructions, traders can execute orders, manage positions, calculate risk parameters and monitor account exposure without traditional terminals or manual coding.

“Technology has always been at the core of Dukascopy’s DNA,” said Andre Duka, CEO of Dukascopy Bank. “Today, we are taking the next step by making that infrastructure accessible through AI.”

The integration requires no programming knowledge and takes a few minutes to set up. Client passwords are never shared with the AI assistant. The service is available immediately for JForex demo accounts, with live account support coming soon.

Trade 25,000+ CFD* Instruments

Dukascopy has also significantly extended its multi-asset offering, going well beyond the 1,500+ instruments available on its JForex environment. The new stock trading feature, available through a dedicated JForex sub-account, gives clients access to more than 25,000 CFDs on stocks and ETFs spanning 20 markets globally, with expansion to 87 markets planned. It is accessible directly through JForex4 Desktop, requiring no disruption to existing JForex workflows. Clients can explore the full range of markets with Dukascopy from the environment they already know.

A New Standard for Swiss Digital Banking

The new Dukascopy Bank App, available now for iOS and Android, replaces the bank’s legacy Connect 911 and Swiss Mobile Bank applications and unifies the full spectrum of Dukascopy’s services: banking, payments, cards, foreign exchange, investments and 24/7 multilingual support, into a single, redesigned mobile experience. Clients can open accounts remotely through secure video identification, manage Visa, Mastercard and Chinese payment cards, start using virtual payment cards immediately or order a physical plastic card, send international transfers and access investment services directly from their mobile device.

“For 20 years, Dukascopy has been recognised as a technological pioneer in fintech and online trading,” said Andre Duka. “Today, exceptional mobile experiences are no longer optional, they are essential. Our new flagship app reflects our vision of making Swiss banking more accessible, more intuitive, and more powerful than ever before.”

A Platform Built for the Next Decade

Taken together, the three launches represent Dukascopy’s consequent technical evolution. The new banking app forms the first phase of a broader mobile transformation; a dedicated next-generation trading application for JForex accounts is already in development. The AI integration establishes Dukascopy as a pioneer in the emerging category of conversational trading.

Dukascopy was named Best Fintech Forex Broker in 2026, Best Online Bank Switzerland in 2024, and Leading Bank Broker Switzerland in 2024.

About Dukascopy Bank SA

Dukascopy Bank SA is a Swiss-regulated online bank and forex broker headquartered in Geneva, with offices in Hong Kong, Riga and Tokyo. The bank serves more than 400,000 clients worldwide, offering forex trading, CFDs, binary options, and retail banking through its JForex platform, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Dukascopy is authorised and regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

Media Contact

Dukascopy Bank SA 

ICC, Entrance H, Route de Pré-Bois 20

1215 Geneva 15, Switzerland

Tel: +41 22 555 0500

www.dukascopy.com

* CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

Contact

Veronika Celitane
Dukascopy Bank
info@dukascopy.com

New York, United States, September 4th, 2026, FinanceWire

S&P Global Ratings has revised the outlook on the long-term credit ratings of Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding Corp. and its four core operating subsidiaries from “stable” to “positive,” while affirming their international credit ratings.

The agency also raised the national-scale ratings of Freedom Finance JSC (Freedom Broker) and Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC from “kzA-” to “kzA.” The positive outlook applies to Freedom Holding Corp., Freedom Finance JSC, Freedom Finance Global PLC, Freedom Finance Europe Ltd., and Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC.

“The improved outlook from S&P underscores that, strategically, we are moving in the right direction. We chose not to develop each business in isolation, but to build our own global institutional ecosystem. At the same time, we are strengthening corporate governance and risk management and working to improve the efficiency of our business model across all the jurisdictions in which we operate. S&P’s positive outlook shows that this progress is being recognized by independent international rating agencies,” said Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp.

S&P describes Freedom Finance as Kazakhstan’s largest retail brokerage franchise and notes the group’s growing presence in Europe, complemented by its banking and insurance businesses in Kazakhstan. The agency expects moderate balance-sheet growth and earnings diversified across businesses and geographies to support the group’s strong capitalization.

The agency also highlights Freedom’s continued development of group-wide risk management and consolidated compliance functions. S&P believes stronger controls at both group and subsidiary level should help the company monitor and manage risks as the business grows. It also expects Freedom to continue expanding its financial and non-financial businesses without putting undue pressure on capitalization.

The positive outlook means S&P could raise the ratings over the next 12 months if its assessment of economic risks in Kazakhstan improves further. The outlook revision comes against a more favorable assessment of Kazakhstan’s economic environment. On August 21, S&P upgraded Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit ratings to “BBB/A-2” from “BBB-/A-3,” with a stable outlook. The agency said resilient economic growth, easing economic imbalances and stronger regulatory oversight could contribute to better conditions for the country’s financial sector.

The latest action follows another positive S&P rating move earlier this year. In June, the agency upgraded Freedom Finance JSC, Freedom Finance Europe Ltd., Freedom Finance Global PLC and Freedom Bank Kazakhstan JSC to “BB-.”

About Freedom Holding Corp.

Freedom Holding Corp. provides financial services in 24 countries, including Kazakhstan, the United States, multiple EU countries, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. The Company’s principal executive office is located in New York City. In Kazakhstan, Freedom is actively developing its financial and digital ecosystem, which includes Freedom Bank, Freedom Broker, the insurance companies Freedom Life and Freedom insurance, as well as a lifestyle segment that features Arbuz.kz, Freedom Ticketon, and Aviata. Freedom Holding Corp. shares are traded on the U.S. technology exchange NASDAQ, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), and the Astana International Exchange (AIX) under the ticker symbol FRHC. Freedom Holding Corp. is regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the common stock is included in the Russell 3000 Index.

Contact

Natalia Kharlashina
Freedom Holding Corp.
prglobal@ffin.kz
+77013641454

New York, United States, September 4th, 2026, FinanceWire

Moody’s Ratings has assigned insurance financial strength ratings to two Freedom Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: FRHC) insurance subsidiaries for the first time. Freedom Finance Insurance JSC, operating as Freedom Insurance, received Ba1 local- and foreign-currency insurance financial strength ratings, while Freedom Life JSC received Baa3 ratings. Both carry stable outlooks.

The Baa3 rating makes Freedom Life the first company within Freedom Holding Corp. to receive an investment-grade rating from Moody’s. The agency began expanding its coverage of Freedom earlier this year, assigning a Ba3 rating to Freedom Bank Kazakhstan in March.

“Moody’s ratings for our insurance companies confirm that within the Freedom ecosystem we can support not only the rapid growth of the ecosystem as a whole, but also the development of each individual business. We see significant potential in combining traditional insurance products with modern technology. This allows us to offer the market more effective solutions, reduce our own costs and launch unique products,” said Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp.

Moody’s highlights Freedom Insurance’s market position, asset quality, conservative investment strategy and capital adequacy among its key strengths. The company ranked third in Kazakhstan’s non-life insurance market by gross written premiums in 2025, with a market share of around 10%. Approximately 90% of its invested assets were held in fixed-income instruments.

Freedom Life is among Kazakhstan’s three largest life insurers and held approximately 20% of the market by premiums in 2025. Moody’s points to the company’s asset quality, capitalization and profitability as key strengths.

Moody’s also points to the insurers’ integration into the wider Freedom Holding Corp. ecosystem as a factor supporting their market positions. The shared brand, cross-selling opportunities and Freedom SuperApp help both companies reach customers across the ecosystem. By March 2026, the SuperApp had surpassed 5 million registered users.

About Freedom Holding Corp.

Freedom Holding Corp. provides financial services in 24 countries, including Kazakhstan, the United States, multiple EU countries, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. The Company’s principal executive office is located in New York City. In Kazakhstan, Freedom is actively developing its financial and digital ecosystem, which includes Freedom Bank, Freedom Broker, the insurance companies Freedom Life and Freedom insurance, as well as a lifestyle segment that features Arbuz.kz, Freedom Ticketon, and Aviata. Freedom Holding Corp. shares are traded on the U.S. technology exchange NASDAQ, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), and the Astana International Exchange (AIX) under the ticker symbol FRHC. Freedom Holding Corp. is regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the common stock is included in the Russell 3000 Index.

Contact

Head of Public Relations
Natalia Kharlashina
Freedom Holding Corp.
prglobal@ffin.kz
+77013641454