He will be based in London, reporting to Adam Seagrave, the global head of sales and trading, to drive Saxo’s preferred broker programme and meet the high level of demand, the firm said in a statement.

The preferred broker programme provides a compliance-approved broker service. It allows partner clients to enrol their employees onto the platform whereby Saxo reports trades to the organisation’s compliance department directly, ensuring that employees' dealing activity is correctly monitored, the firm continued.

Prior to joining Saxo UK, Donovan worked on the global sales trading team at Cantor Fitzgerald in London covering Asia and European-based accounts across Europe and US Markets, the firm said. 

Donovan, who started his career at Merrill Lynch, has also worked at UBS for over a decade in Hong Kong and London, as well as Citibank in Hong Kong.

Adam Seagrave, global head of sales trading at Saxo UK, said: “James’ extensive expertise and strategic insight will align perfectly with our ambition as we strengthen and continue to grow our preferred broker business across the globe.”

Donovan added: “Saxo is an organisation with ambitious plans for both innovation and scale. I am excited to build further on the company’s excellent reputation as a leader in both investment and trading in a highly competitive environment.”

The announcement follows the recent appointments in the UK of Simon Camilleri as chief operating officer and board member, Joanna Moberly as head of legal and company secretary, and seasoned industry figures, Nicholas Wilcock and Michael Ridley, who joined Saxo UK’s board as non-executive directors.

London-based Saxo UK, which is a provider of multi-asset trading and investment, is a subsidiary of Saxo. It has client assets worth more than 45 billion euros ($49 billion), with a local presence in London, Singapore, Amsterdam, Zurich, Dubai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.