The appointments reflect the increased popularity of CFDs by retail investors looking for shelter in a year that has been marked by sharp volatility and sliding equity markets. Retail investors are increasingly turning to Contracts for Difference to hedge against falling stock prices and to profit from market turbulence.

Chris Wandelt has been appointed Senior Manager. He will be primarily responsible for the US CFD book. Chris joins Saxo Bank from Goldman Sachs in New York, where he has more than five years experience in market making NYSE stocks.

Lorenzo Tajana has been appointed Senior Manager. He will be primarily responsible for the Europe 2 CFD book (continental and south Europe exchanges). Lorenzo joins Saxo Bank from Capitalia Asset Management, where he headed up the Equity Division for five years following 5 years at Morgan Stanley London.

Ben Morton has been appointed Manager. He will be primarily responsible for the CFD UK book. Ben joins Saxo Bank from West LB Bank in Düsseldorf, and brings with him over 8 years experience in market making EU and UK stocks.

Bo Ahm, Senior Manager will continue to be responsible for the Europe 1 CFD book (Frankfurt, Swiss and Scandinavian exchanges)

Søren Nedergaard has been appointed to Director and COO of Equity & Listed Products. Søren will primarily be responsible for developing new products and tools, optimizing infrastructure and education within Equity & Listed Products (including CFDs, Futures & Fixed Income)

All the new appointees will be located in Copenhagen and report to Claus Nielsen

Claus Nielsen, Executive Director, COO Trading & Deputy Head of Trading commented on the appointments: "Saxo Bank is pleased that Chris, Lorenzo and Ben have chosen to join at a very exciting and pivotal time for us. These new hires bring our CFD team to a total of 14 with 2 located in Singapore and add to our strong expertise in CFDs reflecting the growing importance of CFD trading for Saxo Bank and our clients."