The first of its kind two-day event that has been brought by Forex Magnates to Turkey is still ongoing, with the focus shifting in the second day, co-hosted by FXSTREET, to nurture the relationship between brokers and their customers. As the interest towards the foreign Exchange market in the country is growing there have been over 1,200 traders flocking to the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel to attend the Forex Magnates Turkey FX Conference and meet representatives of their current or future brokers.
The first day of the conference has concluded widely successfully with prominent local and global foreign exchange service providers, technology companies and industry professionals gathering to discuss the main challenges facing the forex space in Turkey.
Day One: Forex Industry Insiders
Participants in the discussions during the first day of the Turkey FX Conference have expressed their satisfaction with the quality of the event organization and the panel discussions. While the country has been very vibrant in the economic landscape for the past ten years, similar events have been missing. Feedback on the ground suggested that the event, brought jointly by Forex Magnates and conversionpros, was a milestone for the Turkish forex industry, by bringing so many professionals and experts into one place at the same time.
While the modern environment in which the Turkish capital markets have evolved provided the country with a relatively sound technological infrastructure, the event has proven to be an opportunity for all industry participants to share their views on how to improve overall services.
One of the key discussions has been the regulatory environment which has proven to be challenging. However the companies that have managed to establish their services and survive in it are proving to do rather well. Another panel focusing on marketing, has provided some clues to the unique environment of the Turkish retail forex space and the challenges that new players are facing.
Tradable and Turkey's largest investment bank IS Investment have announced a partnership at the end of March and a special panel has been dedicated to this pretty big announcement that brings together a retail platform provider and a leading investment bank into breaking new ground.
The event also shows how valuably and progressively the Turkish banking community is thinking about FX and the industry professionals overall. Many Western investment banks could take cue from this deal, to explore the option to provide additional services to their clients which ultimately benefit their clients and encourage more innovation.
Day Two: The Traders Join Their Brokers
Booths in the Expo hall
Traders today have had the opportunity to get acquainted with their brokerages and the latest trends and innovations in the industry. A number of participants have expressed excitement with the number of traders that showed up to visit the second day of the Forex Magnates Turkey FX Conference. FXStreet has been in charge to present a variety of events and undertakings that appealed to the traders present at the event.
Transportation through the Expo
The first event in Turkey to focus entirely on currency trading has been very well attended. A variety of traders, ranging from the complete curious novice to the well experienced professional trader have visited, with their background equally colourful - financial professionals, scientists and businessmen got curious on what the foreign exchange market has to offer.
Representative of one of the big local brokers that attended, ISIK, Ece Pulas has told Forex Magnates reporters that the company hasinvited its customers, and many of the visitors, have come only for that purpose. Meeting face to face with representatives of their chosen broker has been a major driver of attendance. Mr Pulas concluded that "the event was a success in meeting old and new customers and the company will definitely attend next year."
Forex Magnates have talked to Orhan Aykurt, who is a professional trader from Antalya, he noted that that "an event like this,to gather all the traders, gives us an opportunity to network, otherwise it's just you and your computer. The thing I liked the most was getting in touch with brokers, which is a priority for me. The panels you had were useful with information that can assist traders. They need to know they can benefit from the information."
The first panel of the day
Trading precious metals in the country has been traditionally popular, hence the first panel of the day was dedicated to gold trading. Mursel Ozdemir, an attendee at the FX Conference has told Forex Magnates reporters that he has been trading gold, and is a trader for one year using XTB as his broker. He noted that "the Palace is a great location. While I really liked the food, the could have been more panels and I would like to see more topics covered. It would be great to see Q&A type panels where we can ask questions to the experts."
After a brief break that allowed visitors to explore the various booths that have been positioned in the lobby, retail traders had the opportunity to listen to one of the leading experts in the country Erkin Šahinöz and his insights on the Federal Reserve.
Talking to Forex magnates, an individual trader from Istanbul, Revan Hakimi, said that "this is the First forex professional event in Turkey and it's great. I have been in the market for four years. I have been in the stock market for a long time. Today has been useful, and I particularly liked the training sessions. Also the training workshops were very good."
Following the conclusion of the lunch break, one of the key topics mattering to local investors was the discussion at the second panel for the day. The Turkish Lira has been extremely volatile throughout the past year and has provided many opportunities for currency traders. The panel composed by local currency trading experts aimed to answer the question on How to trade the USD/TRY pair in these rapidly changing times.
Destek trading competition
A special trading competition was organised by Destek which caught the attention of all visitors to participate in it and win attractive prizes. That concluded the better part of the day and another massively successful one for the Forex Magnates' Turkey FX Conference. Both exhibitors and visitors of the event are already looking forward to establishing it as a traditional yearly gathering of the foreign exchange industry participants in the country. The conference drew to a close with the Forex Magnates Grand Finale during which attendees were awarded with their prizes.
