Scandinavian Capital Markets Author: Jordan Schneir
MICHAEL BUCHBINDER Managing Partner and Co-Founder At Scandanavian Capital Management
Q Thanks for the time Michael. How has the year finished at Scandinavian Capital Management? This year was fantastic. We took the opportunity to expand our market presence and introduce ourselves to the global Foreign Exchange marketplace. I would say we’re most proud of the Valhalla Initiative. That was a big hit with our clients and helped expose them to who we are and immerse them in our values. We hosted 19 industry leaders from 8 countries in Stockholm, ranging from educators to traders. It offered us a chance to reshape the view of the industry. We also had an opportunity to host a Thought Leadership Conference in London back in May. This brought together leaders in the industry in a constructive atmosphere to bring about real change. That was followed up on November 19th, conference in Johannesburg: Bringing Scandanavian Values to your business. It’s pretty amazing to see the company expand globally.
Q So what exactly is the Valhalla Initiative? Let me start by explaining how we came up with the idea. The Foreign Exchange marketplace has been plagued for years by bad actors that obliterated trust in the industry. While many of them no longer exist, there still exists a healthy skepticism of the industry. That’s what we will change. Our Valhalla Initiative emerges from the Swedish culture - trust, transparency, and safety. It plays off the popular Nordic Mythology, where we open ourselves to poking and prodding. We’re not afraid to lay it all out there. We’re confident in who we are and what we stand for. We invite clients on a partially or wholly subsidized trip to our headquarters in Stockholm. They get an opportunity to meet our team, some wining and dining, as well as the culture the city has to offer.
GAME CHANGERS Issue #25
Michael Buchbinder Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Scandanavian Capital Management
For us, it allows us to expand our relationships by having frank conversations in an open setting. Sometimes you just need the face-to-face interaction on top of online correspondence to really find out what bugs people so you can fix it. Q You’ve mentioned the aspects of trust and transparency before. It seems like that’s something personal for you.
