Looking Past ESMA, a Time to ‘Refocus on Growth’

The final countdown is on with less than one month to go until the London Summit 2018. Ahead of the event, Finance Magnates continues to interview some of the event’s leading speakers to show attendees what is in store.

In the latest piece, we examine FX technology and how the field has evolved over the past few years. In particular, as MT5 deployment is nearing full scale, leading experts will look to discuss the most pressing questions on their agenda.

This will culminate in a detailed session from several leading industry visionaries who will offer an in-depth understanding of core technology issues, as well as their perspective into what the future holds. For his part, Tom Higgins gives his stance on what has become a truly shifting field.

What is your position and what does your role entail?

I am CEO and Chairman of Gold-i Limited in the UK and Gold-i Information Technology (Shanghai) in China. As the company has grown, my role has morphed from being very operational in the early days to almost 100% strategic today. I set the direction of the business and am the guardian of the culture that is so strong in Gold-i. I wear the loud shirt!

What is the single most important market event or development in 2018 so far?

The ESMA rulings probably affected broker clients more than anything else. They spent months focusing on that rather than growth, but now that is in place they are back on their growth plans.

What are the biggest challenges that the FX trading community is facing? How do they affect your field?

Broker offerings are often very similar, and it is important for them to be able to differentiate their services to gain market share. Differentiation requires novel approaches to the market that many brokers have not adopted yet. It is important to keep working on many new initiatives both directly and with partners, as to keep innovating.

Has demand for cryptocurrency by brokers changed your operations or business?

YES! We see huge demand for CFD cryptocurrency trading across all of our clients. Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term Providers in the Crypto space are different entities to the FX World and use different technologies and different APIs. It is important to continue developing new interfaces using new technologies and often new languages to fully infiltrate this exciting market

Do you recognize a decrease in demand for Bitcoin or Ethereum or Ripple following price dips and lows?

The market is now two-way with both long and short selling rather than just buy and hold as it was last year. This has reduced trading in the cash products but increased volumes and interest in the derivative, CFD markets. This is just the beginning for Cryptos.

Where should brokers look at when seeking their next source of growth? (regions, news assets, better services, etc.)

The best model for a global broker today is to have a mix of asset classes, covering FX, CFDs and Cryptos, a global distribution system, and deep Risk Management Risk Management One of the most common terms utilized by brokers, risk management refers to the practice of identifying potential risks in advance. Most commonly, this also involves the analysis of risk and the undertaking of precautionary steps to both mitigate and prevent for such risk.Such efforts are essential for brokers and venues in the finance industry, given the potential for fallout in the face of unforeseen events or crises. Given a more tightly regulated environment across nearly every asset class, One of the most common terms utilized by brokers, risk management refers to the practice of identifying potential risks in advance. Most commonly, this also involves the analysis of risk and the undertaking of precautionary steps to both mitigate and prevent for such risk.Such efforts are essential for brokers and venues in the finance industry, given the potential for fallout in the face of unforeseen events or crises. Given a more tightly regulated environment across nearly every asset class, Read this Term. Rather than operate a pure A book or B book model, a hybrid approach will generate the best returns.

Tom Higgins will be speaking at the upcoming London Summit 2018 regarding FX technology. The in-depth session will be held on November 14 from 14:00-14:30. Learn more and register here today!