CFI Opens Bogotá Office, Names Colombia CEO Nine Months After SFC Nod

CFI
Financial Group has switched on its Colombian operation, opening a Bogotá
office and installing Simon Knudson as chief executive of the local unit nearly
nine months after Colombia’s Financial Superintendence cleared the firm to set
up shop in the country.

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The launch
turns last summer’s regulatory green light into something operational, and
lands as a growing list of international brokers crowd into the same market.

Competition Heats Up for
Colombia’s Retail Market

“Colombia
is an important market for the Group,” Ziad Melhem, group chief executive
of CFI, said in the company’s announcement. He pointed to “strong momentum
across Latin America” and to a new generation of traders entering the
market.

CFI is far
from alone in betting on Colombia. The SFC waved through Plus500’s first Latin American
office on August
19, 2025, days before CFI got its own approval on August 28. Australian broker ACY
and Libertex Group’s Mauritius-based offshore brand LBX followed within the
same week.

Ireland-headquartered
AvaTrade got there earlier, securing SFC authorization in 2024
and using Colombia as a beachhead for the wider region. Group CEO Daire
Ferguson said at the time that the approval was a “crucial step” in
AvaTrade’s global push.

The pile-up
reflects how Colombia’s representative-office regime works in practice. The
license does not let foreign brokers solicit deposits or accept orders
directly, but it allows them to promote products approved under local rules and
build a domestic team without setting up a fully capitalized local
broker-dealer.

That
structure has made Bogotá a relatively low-cost test market for firms wanting
to plant a flag in Latin America before committing to a deeper local entity.

Knudson Steps In to Run
the Local Unit

Knudson
will run CFI Colombia S.A.S out of Bogotá. He inherits an operation positioned
to cross-sell CFI’s multi-asset CFD lineup to Colombian residents, supported by
what the company describes as fast and reliable execution and a “seamless
client experience”, corporate language that, in practice, will be tested
against the offerings already pitched by Plus500, AvaTrade, and a clutch of offshore rivals.

Knudson said
clients want platforms that are “both accessible and dependable” and
that his team would focus on a “smooth, efficient experience by strong
technology and a local team that understands the market.”

Latin America Push Builds
on Brazil License

The
Colombian launch fits into a busier regional roadmap. Last week CFI secured a brokerage license from
Brazil’s central bank
to operate as a Corretora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários, taking the group’s
regulatory footprint to 15 jurisdictions worldwide.

Brazil has
not been a one-way street for everyone. Warsaw-listed XTB obtained Brazilian
approval earlier in 2025 only to suspend new account openings and weigh
a full exit, citing what it called local protectionist measures.

CFI has
been pairing its licensing push with rising activity numbers. The group
reported $2.3 trillion in first-quarter
trading volume for
2026, up 11% from the previous quarter and 81% year-over-year, according to FM
Intelligence. Active clients rose 18% over the same period.

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.



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