At the Finance Magnates London Summit 2025, industryexecutives on a panel titled “Trading Platforms in 2026: What Traders Want,What Brokers Need” said that trading platforms will be defined by simplicity,mobile usage, and tighter cost discipline, but they disagreed on how much AI and socialfeatures should be added.The panel, moderated by Ivan Rojas of Nelogica, broughttogether Ran Strauss, CEO and Co-Founder of Leverate; Manuel Bugatti, RegionalMarket Education & Analysis Lead at Ultima Markets UK; and Ed Hancock,Director of Operations at Pelican.Simplicity as a Priority, but for Whom?Speakers kept coming back to the idea of simplicity, sayingplatforms are getting more complicated just as younger traders arrive withdifferent expectations.“Simplicity comes with fairness and transparency,” Strausssaid, adding that “70–80% of traders” now access platforms via mobile. Theshift, he said, forces providers to rethink legacy interfaces built for largedesktop screens.Bugatti argued that simplicity is often misunderstood.“Normally the simplicity is not for the young people—they are smart,” he said.“It is the old people who want simplicity.” For him, the challenge is avoidinga “nightmare for brokers” in which platforms become overly customised for everyuser.Hancock agreed that reducing friction remains essential,particularly as retail traders often arrive “completely blind but excited tomake money.” He stressed the importance of education and support inside theplatform, not simply more features.A notable moment came when the panel discussed how to add AI without confusing users. ‘Probably we are not ready to use AI like the customer wants,’ Bugatti warned. ‘They want to open the platform, launch the AI and use directly."Personalisation Meets RegulationPersonalisation emerged as another dividing line. Hancocknoted that Pelican already filters thousands of copy-trading strategies basedon risk appetite, an approach rooted in FCA consumer-duty rules. Tailoredinterfaces, he suggested, must avoid limiting client autonomy or steering userstoward unsuitable products.Strauss shifted the perspective to brokers: “Personalizationdoes not necessarily mean it is for the trader. It can be also for the broker.”Custom branding, pricing by geography and adaptable content have becomecritical ways for brokers to differentiate in a crowded market.Brokers Face Mounting Compliance and Cost PressuresWith tech budgets still much smaller than marketing spend,the panel acknowledged that brokers are being forced to prioritise.Strauss said regulatory and operational costs areaccelerating a shift “from relying on call centres towards self-conversion andautomated funnels.” Rising media and HR costs, he added, are making automationa necessity rather than a preference.Bugatti highlighted the staffing burden behind KYC, AML andcompliance functions. Technology, he said, can “monitor traders” and simplifypartnership oversight, not just trading workflows.Hancock urged caution: “It shouldn’t just be about what youthink might be useful or what one particular IB tells you,” he said. Many firmsadopt tools they cannot maintain or do not genuinely need. With limitedin-house developers, integrating the wrong technology can be costlier thandoing nothing.Social Trading: Hype vs. TrustThe conversation ended on an increasingly relevant topic:whether brokers should build social-style ecosystems around trading.Rojas cited the surge of Telegram and Discord tradinggroups, some hosting thousands of users trading and discussing markets late intothe night. But Hancock pushed back on the idea that chat-driven social tradingcreates value.Pelican previously tested a chat feature that attempted tomimic messaging apps. “It really didn’t work,” Hancock said. “That wasn’t whatbuilt trust.” What matters, he argued, is verified statistics and transparentperformance history—not unverified messages claiming overnight success. “It’sall about the data.”A Market Moving Toward 2026The speakers kept focusing on three main things: platformsmust become easier to use, AI must be introduced carefully, and brokers mustreduce costs without compromising compliance.As Rojas noted, firms that “listen more dynamically toclients” are likely to come out ahead. For an industry balancing regulatoryscrutiny, volatile retail behaviour and rapid technological change, thatadaptability may define the trading platforms of 2026 more than any singlefeature.This article was written by Tareq Sikder at www.financemagnates.com.