Taking care of business!

GABRIEL STYLLAS Founder of 5Comply

It was great to meet up with my old boss Gabriel Styllas, who now runs his own boutique consultancy for some of the leading brands in both Cyprus and the wider area.

Always approachable and great to learn from over the years, it is great to have him appear Game Changers for the first time.

Q Congratulations on the establishment of your new brand FIVECOMPLY. In case the readers are not aware, you mentored me for many years, and was one of the driving forces behind Game Changers Magazine. Can you give the readers an outline of your career?

It’s a great pleasure to get interviewed by a good friend and ex colleague. I am very proud and happy for your and the Game Changers great success. You deserve this!

I have more than 20 years of experience in international banking and the financial services sector, serving among others as CEO, General manager, Head of Compliance, Head of Dealing and authorised stockbroker working for various Investment Firms and Credit Institutions.

I have also served as a member of the Board of Directors in numerous investment firms and credit institutions in the EU, supervised by the FCA, BaFIN, CySec, the Central Bank of Cyprus and the Bank of Greece.

In addition to my experience expertise with dealing with regulators, acquiring licenses world-wide, and offering seminars in relation to Investment Firms Law as well as in Compliance & Anti Money Laundering

Q We first met when you were the CEO of TopFX 6 years ago. How have you seen the industry change since we first met?

The forex industry is very dynamic and its constantly changing. Especially during the last few years, we have experienced a lot of changes in the industry.

Gabriel Styllas Founder of 5Comply

During the last few years we have experienced much stricter legislation in Europe in relation to the marketing, distribution and sale of Contracts for Differences (“CFDs”) to retail clients e.g. maximum leverage limit of 30:1, restrictions on the incentives offered to trade CFDs, (including the offering of bonuses or other enticements). This is the new trend among all the well-respected major regulators around the world like the Australian regulator ASIC.

At the same, nowadays the banks are much more hesitant to work with forex brokers especially with brokers in a jurisdiction without any appropriate forex regulation such as St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Bermuda and Marshall Islands.

It is therefore of utmost importance to see ahead and take the right decisions about licensing, bank account opening, selection of PSPs, etc

At FIVECOMPLY we help brokers to make the right decisions and to execute them properly

Q By having a great reputation within the local eco system, did this help you grow your business?

Yes, this definitely helped FIVECOMPLY to acquire some good clients worldwide not only in the forex industry but also in the fund industry. Because it’s always been a matter of trust. Clients must trust you as a person and as a professional. As a professional, it’s also critical to earn the trust of those with whom you work: clients, associates, employees, colleagues, etc.

At FIVECOMPLY we managed to earn the trust of our clients, and our clients are happy to refer FIVECOMPLY to their professional network. This is the best way to promote our services.

Q Who is FiveComply aimed at?

FiveComply assists Investment Firms, Investment Funds, and Payment Institutions in international licensing, establishment, and operations. It provides expertise in compliance, AML, internal audit, risk management, legal / corporate support and other related issues. Our team offers customized solutions and assists clients in identifying and properly managing the ever-evolving regulatory environment.

Q We often talked about how the Hedge Fund environment can be developed in Cyprus. How could FiveComply help someone with this need?

The Cyprus fund industry is fast becoming one of the top emerging fund hubs in Europe; it is a well regulated funds jurisdiction and is looking to become an Eastern Mediterranean Oil & Gas hub.

Cyprus’ growing reputation as a funds jurisdiction is mainly due to the favourable changes in the local regulations for funds and the flexibility that can be offered. A recent regulatory development is the possibility of structuring a Registered Alternative Investment Fund (RAIF), which is easier and most importantly quicker to set up and are not subject to authorisation by CySEC (only notification). With this set-up, any investor can establish a fund in a very short time, having also the necessary flexibility to operate. The Cyprus fund industry is also backed by tax friendly environment and the network of financial and professional services providers.

At FIVECOMPLY we do help funds to get licensed by CySEC, to activate the license and to operate properly in a compliant, cost and time efficient way We are confident that the Fund industry in Cyprus will grow significantly during the next few years. Q When we worked together we used to help a lot of local brokerages with liquidity, will you be offering the same role as a compliance consultant?

FIVECOMPLY role now is different but similar. We give advice and help clients to meet the best execution requirements, and thus to ensure compliance with regards to the obligations to execute orders on terms most favourable to the clients. In order to achieve this brokers, need to establish and follow a selection process for execution venues / LPs. The brokers need to be in a position to assess different LPs and compare the results before selecting the LP.

At the same time benchmark and statistics such as the average effective spread, frequency of quote delays, slippage statistics, rejections and price re-quotes, as well as metrics on order latency, must form an integral part of the LP assessment and the brokers monitoring of their LPs and their own execution.

Q We have seen the local regulatory environment change radically since we first met. Why is now critical to have a brand like FiveComply assist with any regulated entity?

It is commonly known that nowadays the retail forex brokers face many challenges. In my opinion the most important ones are related to regulation / licensing and banking. We can assist forex brokers with both.

At the same time, we can help advise brokers on the strategy to be followed taking always into consideration the upcoming regulatory changes.

Among others we provide brokers with license / regulatory roadmap comparing the main jurisdictions around the world and help the clients select the most suitable depending on their operating model and structure.

We also advise brokers on the different group structures and what is the most efficient way to operate, always taking into consideration their target markets and strategy.

Q How can people reach you to speak more about Five Comply?

A face to face meeting always helps and its appreciated by clients. We do try to arrange face to face meetings with potential clients around the world.

However, when this is not feasible, we are always ready to attend calls with potential clients and to provide customised solutions always.

We are more than happy to answer to any enquiries. The easiest way is via the contact page on the FIVECOMPLY website, which is www.5comply.com

Q What do you do different at FIVECOMPLY?

Our target is to be always one step ahead advising our clients about the best jurisdictions to get licensed from, the best banks to open account with and the best service providers to cooperate with, always looking ahead and taking into consideration the upcoming regulatory changes, our clients structure and target clientele / countries.

We do provide our clients with a license / regulatory road map with the best jurisdictions and we do help them to get licensed and to set up an efficient group structure.

We do specialise in group structure set up and group compliance support in relation to forex companies.

Also, FIVECOMPLY consists of professional personnel having extensive knowledge and experience in the areas that our Company focused, which gives a competitive advantage to our clients by delivering smart customised solutions based on their structure and needs.

We help our clients to be compliant at all times thus minimising regulatory and reputational risks, and at the same time we identify cost efficient compliant solutions to help them grow their business.