Game Changers ISSUE #31
CHASING ALPHA! GC SPEAKS EXCLUSIVELY TO ANN HUNT CEO OF CHASING RETURNS
GAME CHANGERS
DIRECTORY O1
Note from the editor
O2
Ann Hunt
O3 O4 O5 O6 O7 O8 O9 1O
View from the top. 03
Chasing returns. 04-09
Is sex used to much to sell FX 10-12
Constantinos Aristophanous Tiqbee. 13-15
Gabriel Styllas 5 Comply. 16-18
Roger Box Speakers Corner. 20-21
Andrew Mreana Instruct FX. 22-25
Sunny Singh & Maggie Strumelieva Van Hawke Talent. 26-28
GC: LUXURY 29-31
GC: DRIVE 32-35
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GC: FEMME
12 13 14
GC: HOMME
36-38
39-40
GC: GOING OUT 41-45
GC:FITNESS 46-49
VIEW FROM THE TOP
Hello everyone, It’s great to be back, and after the last edition we had a staggering amount of views easily breaking six figures just on our Linkedin channels that we publish on. Thanks to everyone who took part in this, it really felt like another huge step forward. We would like to say a huge thanks to our cover star Ann Hunt, the Founder and CEO of Chasing Returns. Ann is a huge figurehead within the FX industry, so it was great to get her thoughts, and find out more about herself and her brand. GC were also fortunate enough to spend time to get into the studio with Andrew Mreana from InstructFX. He has a great set up in his studio, and can easily add value to any brand. You can see the video on both the Game Changers Magazine, and my personal Linkedin profile. We were really happy to get Andrew’s story and see what drives him to get his message out there. We had some great feedback from the previous Speakers Corner regarding how a sales manager almost crashed the business. We had a lot of responses thinking that we were too kind to the owner, so we put it out there to get the counter point of readers’ experiences from their glorious leader. It was great fun compiling these, and are sure you will enjoy them.
There are a tonne of other features in this edition of GC, so enjoy them and feel free to suggest anything you would like to see in the future. A big thank you to everyone who has contributed, designed and assisted in putting GC031 together, it is always a huge team effort.
Paul ORFORD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Game Changers
Chasing returns ANN HUNT Founder and CEO of Chasing returns
Q Readers may not be aware that you began at JP Morgan. How did you begin your career? I studied Computer Science at Trinity College Dublin – Ireland and joined J.P. Morgan’s graduate training program in London. I was very lucky, computer science graduates are allocated randomly around the organisation, I could have ended up in a back office, or the HR department, but instead my first assignment was to the Bullion trading desk building risk models. It was a global desk spanning NY, London and Tokyo so I got very early exposure to working as part of a global team. After about a year, I was sent on a business trip to NY. It was supposed to be for 3 weeks, and I ended up staying for nearly 10 years. I spent a lot of that on the trading floor – building and running risk systems. A lot of the influences for Chasing Returns were born out of that experience. As one of the few people on the trading floor, not running my own position, I was able to observe traders in action through the good and the bad. The broken screens, the tantrums as well as the incredible highs of a good trading session. I saw even back then, that traders reviewing metrics at the end of the day was such a narrow view of managing risk – when psychological risk drove a lot of actions, but was effectively ignored by risk managers, and traders themselves. Q Can you explain to readers what it is like working in that type of environment? The energy levels were fantastic – no two days were ever the same. I learned to thrive pretty quickly. I knew I had an amazing opportunity, and if I didn’t deliver I would be out of there on the first plane home.
GAME CHANGERS Issue #31
Most people won’t believe that I was a shy retiring programmer before I got that opportunity, but when you are surrounded by loud, confident, males from Ivy league colleges exclusively, you have to find a way to be heard. I developed my resilience, and honed my “bullshit” detector there, and it made me the personality I am today. Q What tips would you give to entrepreneurs looking to go out on their own? I’ve never met an entrepreneur who regretted their decision to start a business. I have met many people who regret years spent in unfulfilling jobs that they choose not to leave. If you have the desire to be an entrepreneur, then just do it. You won’t have all the right skills, and there is never a perfect time, there is just the decision to give it a go. I didn’t leave a job to build Chasing Returns, I left to build “something”. I didn’t even really know it was going to be a trading product, as in the early months I went a completely different direction. Once you’ve made the decision, be strategic about everything you do. Your first hire, your first investor and first client are all massively important. They help you set the culture of the company, and lay the groundwork for the business you become in the future. Surround yourself with your biggest critics – they will help keep you grounded and focused, and continue to challenge you through some of the hard decisions. Have fun. Stop and reflect after every day – you’ll have your absolutely worst career days as well as your absolutely best ones when you have your own business. Q Does your brand ever get confused with the educational FX industry? Having an in depth look at it, this is far from an ABC FX course. Can you elaborate more on what the apps are?
Ann Hunt Founder and CEO of Chasing returns
In a nutshell, there is theory and there is practice. Trading is something you can’t learn from a book, you have to learn by doing. Our apps are embedded in your trading day, providing guidance, measuring outcomes while nudging you to better behaviour. With our PlayMaker platform you start every day with your levels for that day. If you lost money yesterday then you trade slightly smaller, if you made money, then you trade slightly larger. Using our recommended levels keeps traders alive for a lot longer. As you trade we help keep you on track. We monitor how close you are to stops and targets, and we warn you when levels are close to being breached. Our amber alerts are there to help you focus, to nudge you to more disciplined behaviour and help prevent many of a traders sporadic episodes of emotional trading. With GamePlan you get a full historical lookback at behaviours that are beneficial as well as those that cost you money. For example, you might have an edge where your morning trading is much more successful than your afternoon trading, or trades executed after a losing streak perform really strongly due to increased focus. I am a massive believer in traders studying their good habits and their disciplined trades. Too much education focuses on the negative – it’s important to balance this out. Q Some of the greatest products are the simplest to use. Can I use and understand how to use your products quickly? Luckily, all of our complicated work goes on behind the scenes! Our service is tiered, so it unlocks new features as you gain experience. We start off really simply and our onboarding process provides all the information you need to use the platform.
How well do you think this acts a curb against the greed factor when trading? I like to quote Ed Seykota. Success in trading is 10% Strategy, 30% Money Management and 60% Psychology. I don’t just think it acts as a curb, at Chasing Returns we prove that it does. Traders are educating themselves more and more about psychology and behavioural science. People understand the principles of fear and greed, how streaks can cause tilts, and the behavioural biases at play in their trading. However, we are the only people who measure this. I have conversations with traders all the time about this. For example, let’s say I have a trader who, after a decent winning trade often gives back his winnings on the next trade. If I tell this trader he has this habit, he will already know. However, when I then tell him that 15% of his trades fall into this category but they account for 200% of his losses – that’s when he falls off the chair. What we do, is we cross the divide between the emotions, and the actions traders perform due to those emotions. Using the same example, a winning trade might cause a trader to get overly confident and he becomes less disciplined on his next trade. For another trader, a winning trade might trigger FOMO (fear of missing out) and he forces himself back into the market. These 2 very different reactions end up with the same result – a trader giving back profits. To help traders we turn this on its head. We can only tell them the actions that cost them money (trading after a winner). Each trader must then determine what they want to do about it.
Once you are onboarded, there are choices for what you might want to do. If you have live open positions you will go to PlayMaker to monitor against your rules.
In the short term, our technology builds awareness. A trader might decide to manage a weakness by making those trades smaller and/or building breaks into his trading day when he knows he’s at risk. Alternatively they may hire a coach/therapist to work through their behaviour. Both solutions work.
If it’s month-end and you want to review behaviour, you can start with our Paths to Profitability which will show the habits that make and lose the most money.
As long as traders separate their “emotional reaction” from the “action that follows” they can manage around their own behaviours.
It’s not prescriptive – every trader will find their own unique edges that they feel they can improve.
Over time, traders start to track their own improvements, leading to a continuous improvement cycle that leads to more sustained trading, less account blow-ups and longer life for traders.
We also have comprehensive in-line help and tours to support our clients.
Q Both Playmaker and Game Plan, look to get the trader to use behavioural science in trade analysis.
GAME CHANGERS Issue #31
GAME CHANGERS Issue #31
Q There are a lot of products out there that seem to be a solution looking for a problem. How does the Chasing Returns differ?
of how brokers are managing their risk, retention of existing clients has become front and centre of strategies.
We are in the lucky position; we tailor new features to our products after we have proven they are problems for our traders.
As acquisition gets more expensive, the most successful brokers are spending more time and effort retaining the clients they have for longer, and providing a better experience for them.
We have a large data set that we use to test any new hypothesis we have. For example, new traders are often advised to stick to a small number of products. We did a bunch of testing on this, and discovered that beginners who stick to 5 products or less do twice as well as beginners who trade more than 10 products. So now we are giving new traders the option to set this as a guardrail for themselves. This means that they will be more likely to stick to 5 products. We have a very simple system where we allow traders set rules (or use our recommendations). Any trades that don’t follow the rules are marked as undisciplined. When traders stick to their rules, they are profitable 80% of the time. This is an incredibly positive feedback loop for any trader to see. By showing them that discipline pays, it makes traders trade in a more disciplined manner. It becomes a self- fulfilling prophecy. Q Do you have a specific type of individual client who buys your product? We have a large range. Our clients are a mix of retail and professional, and span all products. We support all Asset Classes available from our broker clients, or on MT4. The biggest cohort are MT4 traders. We offer a free trial, and it takes less than 5 minutes to connect MT4 accounts to our products. Once connected they work in real-time, the trader never needs to worry about it. Beyond this, we allow clients to upload statements from most of the large brokers, and we also have professional futures traders using our technology. With our white labels, we are available seamlessly to all clients of FOREX.com, OANDA, and City Index. Q In my experience from dealing with brokerages, there are many different models on how they derive their profits. Is there a specific type of brokerage who is your client? I believe the last few years has really changed how all types of brokers think about success. Regardless
Q Can your product adapt to the increasing market volatility we have seen over 2020? Yes. Until 2020, we hadn’t had sustained high volatility for a number of years. Using our test driven approach, we have identified a new edge to measure for our traders. Over 40% of traders show an edge based on volatility – meaning that they perform better or worse in one environment over the other. In low volatility environments, traders are most likely to have a weakness, while in high volatility (VIX > 30) they are more likely to be positive. That was a really insightful experiment for us. I believe that the higher volatility curbs a lot of what I call “bored” trades. With enough signals in the market, people don’t trade for the sake of it. As a result of these experiments we are introducing a series of “Market Edges” starting with volatility edge this quarter. Q You have recently signed partnerships with some of the largest brokerages in retail FX. Why did they choose you? There are three types of brokers for us. Those who want to build themselves, those who want to provide the best solutions to their clients and are happy to licence, and then those that have not yet refocused on retention as a major component of their business strategy. Companies who told us 3 years ago that they were building themselves are now realizing it’s not that simple, its slow and its expensive. When products are changing fast it’s a huge investment, and you can never be as good as a company whose entire focus is on analytics. Similarly companies who were sticking with their acquisition models a number of years ago, are now paying more attention to retention and are more interested in our solutions. Q What’s the best way for readers to find out more about how Chasing Returns can help their trading, or their brokerage? You can visit our website at www.chasingreturns.com, or you can contact me directly at ann@chasingreturns.com
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GC:OPINION IS SEX USED TOO MUCH TO SELL FX? Before we begin, let me apologize to readers who are expecting me to tell stories of long legged models used to get multi million dollar deals over the line, or critiquing the use of the scantily clad ladies housed within expo booths handing out literature to passers by. Maybe we could make a fans only account for these revelations, but sadly this article covers something more banal. To set the scene, over the Christmas break I found myself watching a generic financial TV station, where I saw the standard retail brokerage advertising their brand. Using the by the numbers formula and symbology led me to think, why does this methodology never really change. Is it down to the advertising agency not really understanding their brief, or is it something more? After thinking about it for about ten seconds the answer hit me,the agency are using sex to sell
this product. Now this may sound like I have had a Christmas conspiracy overload, however bear with me. My hurried conclusion I entertained, in a very subtle way they are claiming this product will make me more attractive to a potential mate. As with all coherent arguments, there does need to be some form of evidence to back up your claim. So without further ado I used the tried and tested scientific formula of asking google the answer, as we all know that Google does not lie. For the next 40 minutes I went into the rabbit hole of what do women find attractive, giving me a number of youtube videos from ‘experts’ in their field. To make it scientific I followed only the female presenters, based on the thesis of never asking a fisherman how to catch the fish...ask the fish!
Counter to what most of us men think, there appears to be more than two tried and tested ways of guaranteed success with the opposite sex. The YouTube ‘experts’ offered a more nuanced list consisting of the following to increase your chances of success.
their chances of attracting a partner. When using the data from the relationship experts, and contrasting it to the five adverts from FX brands that had appeared on TV, they all shared the same common characteristics to fit with the above narrative.
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Cleanliness. Intelligence. Got his life together. (Career and not living with mother at 35 years old) Dresses in clothes that fit. Displaying some kind of form of intelligence / wit.
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• Not only did I use the logic of people advertising competitively priced lady corralling courses, I also delved into anthropology with reference to the evolved preferences theory. This argument suggests that women are at a natural disadvantage when it comes to acquiring resources. They’re physically weaker than men, and their mobility is hampered by pregnancy and child-rearing. So women are dependent on men to provide for them and their children, and that’s why they value resources over looks in a potential mate. Based upon this perspective, advertisers are targeting men aiming to show them how they can achieve a certain level of economic dominance, which according to the evolved preferences theory should improve
• • •
Man smartly dressed. High quality living area - signifying economic dominance. Many computer screens - outline a mass of information gathering indicating intelligence viewed as a key to survival. Looks like he has a busy life / important - has status / economic power. In good physical shape - important for procreation / protection. Winning trades making money - signifying economic dominance / intelligence. Winning a game of chess indicating intellectual dominance - linked to intelligence / earning power.
Does the advertising industry use scientific metadata to design a series of adverts aimed at men that psychologically tick all the boxes, or was it just lazy content following others methodology set out by others? Who knows. I certainly don’t. Is this a more subtle way of using sex (attracting a mate) to sell your product? If we accept this argument,
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conversely would it be acceptable to start moving the boundaries further and have your brand advertised on various adult themed websites using a similar message. One thing I have learnt from FX is that one dollar is the same as the next, and that it is all about the bottom line. Although it is fine to have personal morals regarding this, however you will have to accept that someone else will not share them with you, they will be taking that dollar that could be yours. Although this may not fit with the brand values of certain entities, I think you would struggle to find a CEO or an owner who would object to penetrating (for want of a better phrase) a market where you can have millions of dollars in new revenue. That’s my 2 cents on the subject, do you think there is a right way to advertise FX. Would the adult route be acceptable? Does the marketing industry need to have more flexible thinking I ask only one thing of the advertising industry...enough of the chess playing in FX in attracting new participants into the adverts! market where it seems all the brands messages are no different from each What are your thoughts? other..
Tiqbee CONSTANTINOS AROSTOPHANOUS Founder of Tiqbee
The first brand that we worked in partnership with was Atlantic Securities, which is what you could call a very traditional financial company, compared to what you see compared to a modern FX brokerage. We actively managed portfolios for Atlantic clients for just under 3 years, so it was a decent amount of time to work with such a well established brand, and also we further developed our skills and techniques in this time. Q If I was to use a signals provider, what should I look for to make sure they are reputable? Post Atlantic, we sat back and looked at the landscape of the signals industry, and what we saw was a multitude of providers, however they did not seem to have a high level of professionalism. It was very hard to find one with an audited performance or a credible track record, so we made sure that everything was as transparent as possible, outlining the audit and performance on a live verifiable account.
Q In a personal capacity, I get contacted by many signal providers and if I am being blunt they are not the greatest or are perhaps working in conjunction with the brokerage.What separates Tiqbee from all the others? To give you a brief background on Tiqbee, we first started off using the services of several brokerages working on behalf of our clients as Portfolio Managers. Regarding our professional background, we studied and received our certified financial planner diploma, which sparked our interest in pursuing further, and gaining more advanced qualifications in technical analysis. Because of this I believe we developed a track record and credibility, where we could contact brokerages and offer a service that was completely transparent, also we could offer something of use and value to their clients. It is important to stress that all our performances are audited, which we believe is the key in establishing credibility, but we also believe that this should also be industry standard. When we discussed projects with our future brokerage clients, they could see we were incredibly serious regarding what we had to offer and how we would achieve this.
Many providers we found offered evidence of their performance on either a demo account, alternatively they would be selective with the dates showing the performance. In this industry I cannot stress it enough, if you want someone to take you seriously, whether this is an institution or a client, transparency is the key thing to having them work with you. Everyone who works for Tiqbee, are analysts who have passed professional qualifications to achieve certification from industry respected bodies. Moreover, we have all had roles as portfolio managers in large regulated entities, so we have done this for a living for quite some time.As a result of this, our signals are perfect for both retail and institutional clients alike. Q Do you have any quality control with which brands you would work with? On our website we do not refer or promote any brokerage, or white label solution. We only like to work with STP brokers, as we have a very respectable success rate, so it would not be a great for a market maker to use our service. I think more importantly, it is necessary that the brokerage, client and Tiqbee’s interests are aligned in doing the best to make the client money.
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With our telegram group and dashboard, they can log in and verify that the statistics and winning ratios match up to scrutiny. You can see all the results, and it is totally transparent. We also provide you the full screen shot where we show technical support levels of each trade. When you take a look at the massive amount of verified data we have, you can see that we have managed to provide solid returns, with some months returning well above average market returns. Q Is there a specific type of trader who should or shouldn’t use your service? As a team of technical analysts, we always use a specific set of rules that do not change. We do provide in some particular instances when the trade goes in our direction, the ability for the trader to move the stop loss to break even. However, we are quite dogmatic with our approach to offering this service not to get carried away with the emotional side with trading which can lead to losses. To give a brief outline of the rules we adhere to, we look to have a maximum to risk of 1% on each trade. Moreover, we do not like to over trade, which is also a very quick way to damage your account. In our telegram group we offer 3 carefully selected trades a day, so you are not bombarded with meaningless data. To give you an example of our success rate, in our last month we had around an 85% winning ratio. We set our risk parameters at 1% per trade, so for example if we placed 50 trades where 40 won and 10 lost, with a 1% risk ratio you would have a 30% return, so there is no need for excessive risk, or over trading. With regards to our leverage policy, we would
usually enter a trade at one to a half, not one to one, so based upon this the stop loss can define the position size and the risk involved in each trade. Q For someone like me, with limited time and experience, how hard is this to do? We have designed it to make it easy for new entrants to the market, all they have to do is follow the signal that we send. The dashboard has a lot more data, so is a little more complex, but not to the extent where you are overwhelmed. We make sure that everyone is comfortable with what they are looking at, so they have a solid understanding and can use the data and tools to its maximum ability and potential. For example in the dashboard you have access to the full suite of educational material taught by both the STA and the CFT. Once you get a solid understanding of all of this, we would say this gives you a parallel understanding to the advanced syllabus. Furthermore, you can also find strategies, widgets and many many other ways to assist you in your trading experience. Q Would you encourage people to take the STA course? The STA was my way to break into the FX industry, as previously I was working within the banking industry. I wanted to obtain the necessary technical knowledge, so i studied and passed the exam and became certified. This has become the foundation for my entire career in FX and portfolio management. Based upon this, I would recommend some aspects of this, however at Tiqbee you can utilise our services to take advantage of our many years of studying the various exams to deliver you the trades that a professional would select.
Q Is it hard to actually sell the signal service to a brokerage? It can be as there are many out there, however once they see the verified results, they can understand that there is a large gulf between what we offer in professionalism, accreditation and transparency compared to our peers. We have had brokerages who perhaps were looking for quicker wins and different goals, with clients who are over leveraged and perhaps get a little greedy in their trading, so they would not be a great fit for ourselves. Q Can a brokerage owner / dealing room also follow the signals with their LP also? It is a very good idea for a dealing desk to trade their own account. We are aware of some brokerage firms doing this, as there does app[ear to be some level of skepticism from the dealing department regarding signal providers.
This is quite reasonable as they must view a plethora of [providers who are not particularly solid, ao it is quite a potential risk both financially and professionally to ask the CEO for money to trade their own account. However, like anything, once they see the evidence this can change quite quickly. Not only does this give you the net benefit of potentially making an additional revenue from a different source.It can also improve your relationship with your liquidity provider, as you can see a considerable rise in trading volumes Q What’s the best way to reach you? Take a look at our website tiqbee.com, you can see the dashboard, the various groups we have, the telegram service etc. If you have any questions, message us there and we can help you out, or go directly to my Linkedin page.
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5 Comply GABRIEL STYLLAS Founder and CEO of 5 Comply
Choosing the most suitable jurisdiction for your Forex Brokerage Licence: what parameters to consider? Q During the last 3 years we do notice an increased demand for various type of licenses around the world. In your opinion, what is the reason about that? The volume and complexity of regulation has been constantly increasing all over the globe during the last few years. At the same time the regulatory environment is continuously evolving and we have experienced many key regulatory changes in the Contracts for Differences (“CFDs”) industry in the last few years. The most credible regulatory authorities across the globe implemented very strict sets of rules and regulations that pushed some brokers to get additional licenses at offshore jurisdictions where they can operate with more flexibility and offer higher leverage, bonuses etc. The European Securities and Markets Authority’s (“ESMA”) first introduced the temporary ESMA product intervention measures on CFDs with restriction on the marketing, distribution or sale of CFDs to retail investors. This restriction which was initially introduced two (2) years ago imposed: (a) leverage limits on opening positions (e.g., maximum ratio of 30:1 for CFDs on major currency pairs); (b) a margin close-out rule on a per account basis; (c) a negative balance protection on a per account basis; (d) preventing the use of incentives by a CFD provider; and (e) a firm specific risk warning that needs to be disseminated in a standardised way. Although ESMA’S intervention was originally drafted as being “temporary”, National Competent Authorities (NCAs) about a year and a half ago, published their National Product Intervention Measures in relation to the marketing, distribution and sale of CFDs by issuing relevant local legislation. The measures of NCAs were largely aligned with the ESMA’s temporary product intervention measures.
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Since the introduction of ESMA’s temporary intervention measures, a big majority of retail clients - that were originally clients of European CFD brokers - have decided to set up accounts with CFD brokers that are established outside the EU in order to be able to circumvent European restrictions. It seems that, traders were looking for offshore brokers and they were willing to accept the additional risks involved. To answer your question, I believe that, the introduction of EU intervention measures created a very big demand for offshore CFDs brokerage licenses. Some regulators in offshore jurisdictions like the Financial Services Commission (‘FSC’) in Mauritius and the Financial Services Authority in Seychelles managed to attract many new brokers (mainly EU brokers that would like to offer their clients the option to get higher leverage). These regulators managed to get some knowhow, improve and develop during the last two (2) years, with the aim to attract as many credible brokers as possible by offering higher leverage while, at the same time, their target is to remain credible regulators and further develop their Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) legislation to be in line with the EU AML framework. On top of the EU / UK intervention measures, Australia’s watchdog ASIC has recently announced very similar intervention measures effective form 29 March 2021, according to which CFD leverage offered to retail clients will be restricted to a maximum ratio of 30:1 for CFDs referencing an exchange rate for a major currency pair and 20:1 for CFDs referencing an exchange rate for a minor currency pair, gold or a major stock market index.
Gabriel Styllas Founder and CEO of 5 Comply
Q What type of requests does FiveComply receive from CFDs brokers? We continuously receive a great number of requests that, amongst others, tend to focus on advice regarding the selection of the best jurisdiction to set up a CFDs online brokerage, what might be the best combination of licenses based on the Company’s structure and what is considered as the ideal group structure that will enable a group of companies to target the maximum number of clients in the most compliant and efficient way. It is really important to emphasise that, based on our expertise, acquiring a license or several licenses might be a crucial decision for each CFD broker, as it will directly affect his business growth and ability to penetrate the market. Due to the complexity of this, there is no single right answer to be provided. There are many alternative choices and combinations that
in order to be presented, they need research, several get-to-know meetings with the clients and expertise. The result shall always be a customised solution that will depend on different parameters, factors and a case-by-case basis examination. Thus, our target is to always help our clients find the best possible match, based on their needs and identify the most appropriate set-up for their own case. Q What are the parameters that a forex brokerage has to consider during the selection process i.e. when choosing the most suitable jurisdiction to get licensed? Our experienced team is dedicated to offering you extensive guidance and support in comparing regulatory jurisdictions and advising on where and how to best conduct your business by taking into consideration a number of parameters. Among others
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the following parameters must always be taken into consideration during the selection process: minimum required capital, the complexity involved in acquiring a license, the estimated time it would take to get licensed, one off expenses to acquire the license, monthly / yearly operating expenses after the company gets licensed, quality of employees in the country, target clients / countries, type(s) of clients to be targeted (retail vs professional), local infrastructure, local banking options, other bank and PSPs that are willing to accept this license. Brokers with less capital or with different preferences can choose to incorporate their company in an offshore location, which usually has lower initial capital requirements. Incorporating your brokerage in such an offshore location definitely has its benefits in terms of lower expenses, less regulatory requirements and more friendly regulatory environment. However, at the same time being licensed by a non-credible jurisdiction might damage your reputation as a broker, and it becomes more difficult and more expensive when trying to open accounts with banks and PSPs. On the other hand, brokers with bigger budgets mainly choose to apply for a CySEC / EU license or FCA UK or ASIC Australia license. These countries have regulators that offer better regulatory protection to retail clients and they are considered more credible jurisdictions. At the same time, they have stricter reporting and capital requirements than other offshore jurisdictions. On the other hand, getting a license from a more reputable jurisdiction gives the regulated entities better access to corporate bank accounts and accounts with PSPs, while also allows these brokers to enjoy better rates and better terms with banks and PSPs. Finally, getting licensed in the EU e.g., through a CySEC license, makes it easier to attract customers from across the entire Union, with very few exemptions. Q What would you advise the forex brokers about global licensing? Is there a recipe that always works? Each region is different and unique, it has its advantages and limitations. The same applies in the case of brokers; each broker has its own characteristics, as well as, different strategy, target markets, risk profile, budget, etc. So, it is very important for the brokers to choose the jurisdiction or the combination of jurisdictions that
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will better help them to achieve their targets, at the most cost-efficient and compliant way. Generally speaking, it always works if you have in the same group an EU (usually a CySEC licensed entity), an offshore licensed entity targeting non-EU clients (with Mauritius and Seychelles being the most popular) and a service company to offer support services to the regulated entities and take advantage of economies of scale. However, this requires a big budget and not all clients can go for this solution; this is the point where we can offer various alternatives. Q What would you advise existing brokers or start-ups with lower budgets? In the case of cost sensitive clients, our recommendation is obviously to avoid jurisdictions with high running expenses, while making sure that, they have sufficient capital to cover at least 3-year of running expenses and maintain the minimum capital requirement. Our professional team provides comparison tables to clients where they can compare the different parameters of the offshore jurisdiction and accurately estimate the one off and ongoing operational expenses. Our team of experts also assists the clients in choosing less expensive jurisdictions and select cost efficient solutions. FiveComply offers outsourcing solutions to certain jurisdictions helping the clients to minimise the number of full-time employees and thus, minimise the expenses. Q What do you do different at FiveComply?
Our target is to be always one step ahead and act pro-actively, by 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, while 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 ups and group compliance support in relation to forex companies. Lastly, it is also important to mention that, we are able to offer full support to our clients by helping them be compliant at all times, thus, minimising regulatory and reputational risks, while at the same time, we identify cost efficient compliant solutions to help them grow their business.
Speakers Corner Hail to the Chief! ROGER BOX GC Contributor
Although no employer is perfect, many felt that the last edition of speakers corner was a pity party for the owner, and too much sympathy was given. Although I do believe in many circumstances a job is what you make of it, including the crappy ones, you can still be making plans in the background to improve your situation. It’s fair to say that working in FX is not the same as being a child laborer in an African lithium mine, however some CEO’s can be tremendously challenging to work for. So in the interests of bringing balance to the universe we asked for your stories, and you certainly delivered. Based on the modern day therapy of gratitude journaling and being thankful for everything, we would like to say a special thank you to our glorious leaders, may you forever enlighten us with your wonderful future vision... Dear CEO, I just wanted to say thanks for everything... Thank you for misleading me in the interview process. Sure I take some of the blame for this in swallowing your vision of a very well funded startup. I have used the line of ‘getting in on the ground floor’ a million times myself when I was sold an opportunity. Kind of ironic that I fell for it also.
You were probably misled like me with dreams of becoming the next Goldman Sachs, but you are the leader nonetheless...step up or step off.
Thank you for letting me know personally that I would have a marketing budget once I ‘proved myself’. I have more experience in this industry than you have, and have not been placed in my position by merit of knowing the owner. If you were just straight with me from the outset, then that’s cool. I wouldn’t have taken the project on.
Thank you for having little or no regard for legal procedure which I suspect is a bit of a weird concept to you, and your various offices in random Eastern European countries. Working legally is different to just stealing peoples money. Probably best you make a choice which one you would like to do.
Thank you for depending on just my network to get your brokerage off the ground. I am risking more than you with my reputation and network being potentially destroyed, along with my clients hard earned money for your bucket shop.
Thank you for the commission calculation formula that would even confuse Einstein.Lets just keep it to the simple structure we agreed on, and no need to factor in the current wind speed and deducting revenue based on the favorite national dish of Vanuatu.
Thank you for not having no balls to stand up to the owner.I understand that you have bills to pay etc. However, you are the leader and must act as such.
Thank you for claiming that our brokerage is STP. Not unless your definition means ‘Straight To Pocket’ then I think we need to talk about how it is defined.
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Thank you for not paying me what you make on the B Book. Let’s end this peculiar dance that we are an STP only brokerage. We both know, we all know...even the clients know. Thank you for your confused understanding of what FX actually is? I am sure your Binary Options brand was run with the utmost integrity, however even the grey world of Forex has some level of legal and ethical standards...and i stress the word some! Thank you for the continual late payment of salary. You got me by the balls as I need the money, so I can’t just walk out. I got to wait for my money so I can make plans. Do the decent thing and have enough money in the account you are contractually obliged to pay. I would leave, however it looks bad on my CV by moving so quickly. Thank you for giving me endless marketing tasks, and a special thanks from the sales team for our new ‘Prime’ department. Just because you call it prime, don’t make it so. Thank you for telling us endless stories about your time in the military. Just so you know, it is a widely known fact that you have never served in it. Get some help! Thank you for your wonderful offer of building a team around me. After being here for 2 years, I really enjoy working with my invisible sales team! Thank you for saying ‘we are all one family’.I now understand that this is a code word for you not paying me my commission this month. Thank you for comparing our sales team performance
with the one in your home country...where everyone has changed their name/gender, makes weird promises and claims to the client, and has a lead campaign budget to rival your nation’s military budget.Sadly my three sales staff will not be able to match the same amount of revenue generated as a 300 person call centre. Thank you for not having any phones fitted in the area allocated for the sales department. We genuinely all did think you were kidding when you asked why are the numbers on new starts down. Maybe we should use smoke signals for the next quarters sales push! Thank you for getting upset that we cannot streamline (eliminate) our compliance procedures. Sadly we have these things called ‘laws’ that our society has agreed to work by. Thank you for the huge expense account when travelling. Next time I will pack some sandwiches and bring a sleeping bag. Thank you for employing me for the Head of Marketing role and giving me no budget, then outsourcing it to your friends who are marketing ‘consultants’ the same week I started. It’s really awesome that you then blow up at me as we are getting no leads in...you absolute legend! Thank you for what you believe is a discrete cocaine habit. At least do the honourable thing and share it. Think of the bigger picture, we can increase productivity! We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed, it was incredibly funny editing them all... keep up the good fight :-)
Instruct FX ANDREW MREANA Founder and CEO of Instruct FX
Q Why did you start InstructFX? I started InstructFX because I have a message to pass and from the employee position it was very difficult to do so. Also, after 10 years in the Financial Markets I realised that a lot of people need help now more than ever when it comes to online trading as the trust in the industry started to fade due to a very high number of fraudulent companies and changes in regulation. Many retail traders are misled in believing that they can realize tremendous profits over a very short period with little to no prior knowledge about the financial markets. Most retail traders are explained the basics and then abandoned if they cannot deposit more money for the broker to benefit in a way or another. Many traders are scammed by unregulated companies only because they don’t know what to ask for, when approached by sales agents. Through my Podcasts & Daily Streams I try to help people understand the basics of trading and all I want to do is pass the correct information to my viewers so everyone can make an informed decision when it comes to online trading and investments. Q What tips would you give entrepreneurs to go in on their own? If you thought that working for someone else is tiring, just wait until you run your own business. On the other hand, if you are good at what you do, if you have a dream, if you are determined to change your life and if your product could make a difference, take a deep breath and do it. It will be difficult, it will be tough, but the rewards are much more satisfying than any other job you might do for any employer for any amount of money. Q GC has always been critical of inhouse ‘trading gurus’, what makes you different?
Andrew Mreana Founder and CEO of Instruct FX
Yes, I know that :) I never claimed that I am a “trading guru’’. My experience in the Financial Markets is real and public, and my goal is to help people understand the hidden corners of the online trading industry and point them into the right direction so they can make an informed decision when they come across this type of investments. I never give investment advice or manage people’s funds. All I am doing is sharing the experience that I gathered in 10 years of hard work in the front line. I am also against ‘’trading gurus’’ that never worked in the industry. Learning to trade from someone that never worked in a forex firm or in the financial industry is like going to a hospital and asking a patient what is the best medicine for your condition. Would you do that? Probably not. There is much more to it than just explaining someone some basics of trading and how to read the charts. You have to provide the information in a regulated manner, highlighting both sides of the coin and not just highlight the potential profits. You can’t mislead the people in believing they can make a fortune over night without any prior knowledge about trading and this is what most ‘’trading gurus’’ are doing which is not just sad but also illegal. So, this being said, I think I am a bit different than most ‘’gurus’’. Q Do you find it hard to continuously generate content? To be honest, not really. I’ve learned so much about the industry in the past 10 years that I could generate content daily for the next 10 years and there is always something happing in the markets that gives me something to talk about. The problem is, passing that information to the average trader in such a way that it’s easy for them to comprehend and as fast as possible. Finding the time to organize everything can be quite challenging because there are many events and announcements that come
out every day and by the time, I see the news and prepare to go live something else might happen that will completely change the direction of the markets. Generating content would be much easier if the day would be 36 hours long :) Q Do you think there will be a new platform outside of YouTube to get a following in the future? For sure. There is a huge amount of content created right now as many people during lockdown felt the need to express themselves, maybe some of them decided to change their career, maybe others had a project on stand by for a long time and now they decided to go public so very likely we will see something similar to YouTube launching really soon as there is an influx of content right now everywhere. InstructFX tries to be ahead of the game, and we are already broadcasting on 9 podcast channels, on 3 social media channels, on Twitch.tv and soon we are looking to broadcast in FM as well. Q I think personally that this type of medium you have developed is great for personal brand building. How do you offer your sponsors value? That’s a great question Paul. We offer our sponsors
value through Marketing and Introducing Broker services. We want to show the world that online trading is a legit business that legit companies have a face, that their CEOs are willing go public and talk about the business so traders can be rest assured in terms of professionalism and transparency when they trade with one of our partners. On the other hand, our sponsors know that InstructFX is not misleading the clients in any way and that we work in a regulated manner.
InstructFX basically acts as a middleman between the retail client and the forex firm, just like the forex firm acts as a middleman between the client and the liquidity provider. On one hand we make sure that all our partners are legit and they conduct the business in a professional manner, and on the other hand we make sure that the traders know exactly what they are getting themselves into and we even help them understand how it works and hold their hand for the first few weeks or trading.
viding them spot on information about this specific industry which is online trading and we operate an open-door policy. We give every trader the opportunity to come public and share their experience, good or bad, with the entire world through our daily broadcasts.
Q The personal view of GC is that such mediums as CNBC and Bloomberg are for the last decade if you want to get your retail brand visible. Would you encourage more to develop something like you have done, or is it best to use your brand?
I don’t remember when last time I saw an average retail trader being interviewed by one of the big TV channels. Do you? Or when a big TV channel exposed a fraudulent forex firm and informed the retail traders about the risks involved in trading before it was too late. This is the niche that InstructFX found in the market. We are not planning to become the next Bloomberg or CNBC. We are planning to become the first InstructFX that looks after the retail traders.
You have a point. However, all the big networks talk about the stock markets and the general condition of the markets. They are not focused on the retail side of trading or the online trading industry like InstructFX is. We want to help the retail trading community by pro-
And to answer your second question, we are open for business of course but it is entirely up to them. We have a proven business model, we know what we are doing and where we want to get with the project so, I can’t tell anyone what to do with their business. If you have a good business plan, if you have a dream,
Apart from the projects that I mentioned previously, we are planning to start broadcasting in FM or DAB radio but we are still testing the best option for the moment. It’s all in the hands of Covid right now so I can’t say for sure when this will happen but it’s definitely one of the priorities. Q Are you onboarding any new partners? We are currently in talks with 2 more partners but I can’t disclose more right now. Q What are the criteria for the partners Andrew? What boxes should they tick?
the experience and the tools to pursue that dream don’t let anyone stop you from achieving it.
First of all, they have to be regulated, transparent, professional and think long term. Due to the complexity of the business, I only do business with a company after a personal meeting with their CEO or someone in the higher management of the company. If I will take the responsibility of promoting that firm and bringing business to them, I have to make sure that they are legit and that the traders that I bring to the business are looked after in a professional manner.
Q How do you think you can evolve InstructFX? New presenters etc? Yes. We have a new format ready to go but the Covid pandemic intensifying again and the lockdowns made us delay the launch of the new format of the show. Our plan is to broadcast Live for at least 6 hours every day to start with, and give value to the retail trading community with various daily shows and topics. I am currently looking for 2 more presenters to join InstructFX Daily Broadcasts but given the current situation I will delay it hopefully until March. We also had to postpone one of the biggest open door trading seminars called STOP FOREX SCAM that we wanted to organize this year along with our partners and 2 other projects as well but I am confident that things will get back to normal soon and then we can push the pedal again. Q Anything new coming up for 2021?
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Van Hawke Talent SUNNY SINGH & MAGGIE STRUMELIEVA
2021 Social Media: Influencers vs Brand Ambassadors
The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen an exponential growth in influencer marketing over the last year. With the rise of social media influencers, many brands are turning heads to newer trends and revising their marketing strategies. Our Instagram, Facebook and even TikTok feeds have never been filled with as many influencer-powered ADs as they are today. But is influencer-sponsored content enough to increase your brand awareness, engagement, and conversions, as well as generate high ROI? Many businesses are investing a lot of time and money in influencers and seeing little to nothing in return when drawing comparisons to brand ambassadors. Influencers are effectively content creators with a social media following who can start conversations, set new trends and even impact purchasing decisions made by their receptive audiences. Currently many brands are using influencers to their advantage in sponsoring them to create promotional content of their products and services as it is a cost-effective and convenient way to gain high exposure whilst adding a personal touch to brand campaigns. However, influencer-brand partnerships are frequently just a one-off transaction. The short-term collaboration between the two often questions the level of trust and authenticity of their campaigns, leading to very low engagement. Brands should therefore seek longer and more loyal partnerships, such that can be found when collaborating with brand ambassadors. Brand ambassadors are regular consumers of your product or services and subsequently, share the same value as the brand and its consumer. Unlike influencers who tend to operate on one-off campaigns, ambassadors come from your brand’s niche and add value to the authenticity of the product or service they are passionate about. Forming long-term partnerships and building a close relationship with the brand,
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ambassadors can post a variety of authentic content across social, participate in press events, offer discount codes, and essentially become the face of your brand and sell your product effectively. Similarly, scouting for the right ambassador is a vital part of your brand’s marketing strategy. Someone who is already loyal to your product, has previously engaged with your brand, or possesses an audience of similar niche to your brand’s, will make them an ideal asset to collaborate with. Promoting to the right audience will drive high engagement and exposure before nurturing and converting your brand leads efficiently. Not only will this increase the level of trust between the brand, ambassador, and essentially its targeted consumer, but it will also stimulate a greater ROI. Additionally, putting a face to the brand will make it more personal, real, and distinctively identifiable from other brands. Fashion influencer Lydia Millen who has partnered with Karen Millen for example, has recently delivered multiple seasonal edits and collections over the last few months. The success following her first two KM x LM campaigns could see multiple items rapidly sell out after discount codes were distributed across Instagram and YouTube. Lydia continues to collaborate with the well-known brand, building a stronger presence and trust amongst her followers and can be seen making frequent appearances across the website, the official social accounts, newsletters and so forth, and thus becoming the new face for Karen Millen. Even when the fashion blogger is not promoting the brand directly, she can be seen wearing Karen Millen pieces across her social channels. Her loyalty and dedication towards the clothing line is automatically recognised by her followers, making her a trustworthy and authentic brand ambassador. Another great example is Naomi Osaka who recently became the newest brand ambassador for Louis
Vuitton. Other than tennis, the highestearning female athlete in the world, is an active fashion fan. With a particular interest in bold colours, and print, the tennis champ is currently collaborating with Louis Vuitton’s spring 2021 campaign and other projects allowing her to reflect and reinforce her personal style with that of the brand’s. Ambassadors effectively provide brands with the opportunity to connect and engage with like-minded people. Nurturing ambassadors with unique experiences, content ideas and special events, will prompt them to share and amplify the brand’s product and services in unique ways, build awareness and develop new customer acquisition. 2021 will continue to be a pivotal year for brand ambassadors forming strong, long-term partnerships with brands to boost brand exposure, engagement, conversions, and ROI, but more importantly, to build trust amongst their target markets. Van Hawke Talent is a talent management agency connecting brands with authentic talent and global ambassadors. If you want to learn more about us and how we can assist you, contact us today.
Game Changers Magazine
Lifestyle
GC:LUXURY With the lockdown appearing to be enveloping into my next incarnation, perhaps it is a good time to start looking for a good base to spend the next couple of lockdowns. We found this distinctive property in Pyrgos, Limassol. For those that don’t know, it is surrounded by blue flag beaches, and has 5 bedrooms designed to take the local surroundings into account. We loved the design which for the price offers one of the most elegant spaces we have come across in the country.
Price: 4.400,000 EUR. For viewing information contact Fine & Country at cyprus@fineandcountry.com +357 2481 8000 www.fineandcountry.com
GC: DRIVE PAVLINA-KRISTINA IACOVIDOU Marketing & PR Manager A.I. Motokinisin LTD
Sunday Drives: Jeff Zwart Where: Independence Pass, Colorado Length: 52 kilometres Type: High altitude hairpin bends and high speed corners
Jeff Zwart is no stranger to the mountains. One of the most successful and longest serving participants of the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb and a resident of Aspen, Colorado, his is a life led both at speed and altitude. Small wonder then that his all-time favourite road is Independence Pass – a lifeline for the residents of his remote Rocky Mountains home but also one of the greatest driving routes in the western states. “It’s a road I drive multiple times a year out of necessity,” Zwart explains. “But that’s one of the best things about it. It’s not just a destination road, it’s a func-
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tional one and actually the road I use to drive to Pikes Peak every year.” The sheer immensity of the Colorado landscape, in terms of both distances and terrain, means that getting from point A to point B is often a significant undertaking and roads like Independence Pass are as essential as they are dramatic. “The road has a recurring theme for me,” Zwart says. “It links the town where I live to the big city, and when they close it for the winter it’s well over an hour longer to get there. It’s an amazing road to drive but
there are times when the challenges are just so great. If I need to get to Denver airport for a 7am flight for example, I’ll be driving over it at three in the morning in all types of weather.” Happily, as a man who has won his class at Pikes Peak some eight times, tricky mountain roads are second nature to Zwart. “I know the pass so well now, even though it’s pretty phenomenal in terms of its diversity, from hairpin bends to high speed corners. And because it’s over 3,660 metres, all the trees disappear as you go over the top. In the middle of the night, trying to get to the airport, this should all add up to being your worst possible drive and yet there’s never a time that it’s not entertaining.” Independence Pass begins in Aspen at about 2,440 metres above sea level and climbs to 3,687 m at its highest point. It then plunges back down the mountainside to the historic former mining town of Leadville which, at over 3,000 m, is one of the highest in the United States. The pass makes up a 52-kilometre section of Highway 82 and lays claim to being the second highest paved road in Colorado. A popular tourist destination in summer, it is invariably closed during the winter months when heavy snow and avalanches make it impassable. “The altitude plays a big part up there,” Zwart contin-
ues. “I drive a variety of Porsche on that road, but if you take an early car like my 1953 356, this is a car that barely has 60 horsepower at sea level. So when you go over the pass you’re dealing with around 40 horsepower and pedalling pretty hard to get it to the top.” “The early 911 is perfect for it, however. They’re still not the fastest, but you can’t drive that fast up there anyway, and it’s a car that makes great sounds off the canyon walls. And unlike with more modern cars you really have to engage with it, because the terrain and altitude mean it’s even more important to be in the powerband at the right moment.” Despite tackling the route dozens of times a year, Zwart never tires of the ever-changing scenery: “It’s so beautiful the way this road evolves. You come out of Aspen and are immediately into this valley which is full of wildlife, with elk and moose along the highway. Then you start to rise up the side of the mountain, along steep canyon walls and through sections so narrow that two cars can’t pass each other.” “There are never two trips over Independence Pass that are the same. It changes through the year too, with snow still on the road in Spring and fallen trees brought down by the winter avalanches. Then in the Fall you have these spectacular tunnels of yellow leaves. But to me the perfect time is an early summer morning when it’s warm, there’s no traffic and you have the windows down.”
For his annual pilgrimage to Pikes Peak, the first few miles over Independence Pass act as the perfect prep for Zwart, revisiting the peculiar characteristics of the mountain, the challenges of reading the road and of increasing elevation on the engine. But it is as part of the familiar routine that this road has become such a part of his driving life. “I drive the road up to 20 times a year,” he says. “Over the last 40 years there’s no road I’ve driven more. In rain, snow, hail and pitch darkness. And in beautiful weather too. All of these things combine to make it a unique experience every time you drive it. It’s really something very special.”
For more information contact us. Telephone: +357 25 828911 Email: pavlina.iacovidou@porsche.com.cy Porsche Center Cyprus A.I. Motokinisi (Limassol) Ltd 58-60 Ayiou Athanasiou Avenue Ayios Athanasios CY-4102 Limassol
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GC: FEMME This time of year is great as we can wear fabrics that for the rest of the year are out of the question, not unless we wish to boil to death! GC:FEMME has put together a great look to reflect the cooler weather, but still look effortlessly chic...enjoy!
Brand: Brunello Cucinelli Name: Textured tie waist blazer Cost: €6300 www.brunellocucinelli.com Picture credit: Farfetch
Brand: Brunello Cucinelli Name: Short-sleeve knit top Cost: €840 www.brunellocucinelli.com Picture credit: Farfetch
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Brand: Jil Sander Name: Handlebar Leather clutch bag Cost: €1.050 www.jilsander.com Picture credit: Farfetch
Brand: Chloe Name: Adjustable thin belt Cost: €522 www.chloe.com Picture credit: Farfetch
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Brand: Frame Name: Bootcut jeans Cost: €300 www.frame-store.com Picture credit: Farfetch
Brand: Jil Sander Name: Anket loafers Cost: €545 www.jisander.com Picture credit: Farfetch
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GC:HOMME With the winter bringing more reasonable weather here in South East Europe, we can have no excuse for dressing like we are spending the weekend in the Arctic. This with the ability to have 9 hours of ‘exercise’ everyday when we play the SMS game with the government. We can still make an effort to get out of our leisure wear and into something more elegant, whilst walking the streets.
BRAND: Tom Ford NAME: Suede Harrington Jacket COST: € 4.606 www.tomford.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: Tom Ford NAME: Henley buttoned-up t-shirt COST: € 474 www.tomford.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
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BRAND: Saint Laurent NAME: Monogram Plaque belt COST: € 500 www.ysl.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: Tom Ford NAME: Buckley Portfolio clutch COST: € 994 www.tomford.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
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BRAND: Saint Laurent NAME: Coated skinny jeans COST: € 425 www.ysl.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
BRAND: Alexander McQueen NAME: Studded ankle boots COST: € 901 www.alexandermcqueen.com PICTURE CREDIT: Farfetch
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GC: GOING OUT TOM LEATHERBACK GC Walking Correspondent
Walking in Limassol...because there is nothing else to do!
With the impending Limassol lockdown incoming, we were stretched to write a review of going to restaurants with them probably opening again at sometime in the next few years. So with that being said, what else is there left to do but walk everyday for our Government approved daily fun allocation. As a veteran of the last lockdown, walking can get tedious very quickly and seeing your other lockdown compatriots stumbling along Molos like extras from the walking dead does not fill me with much excitement. At Game Changers we took on the challenge to see how we can make it more fun. What is consistently regarded as one of the dullest past times taken up by both non car owners and instagram health bores alike, was this a challenge too far for GC?
Our first tip if you are based in Limassol is to avoid the Molos and the Marina area like the plague (or in this case a pan global virus), due to it being swollen with a huge amount of pavement pounders. Unless you are looking to attend the super spreader event of the year,it is probably best to give it a miss and look further afield. We would suggest that you should switch it up a little, and luckily the city is blessed by having a spectacular coastline to take advantage of. One of the major problems is mental stimulation, so we would say choose from the long coastline to keep things interesting. As we are not fans of cold weather, there is minimal chance of finding GC going up the mountains anytime soon, but feel free if you must,
As this is our only social life, GC thought why don’t we try and incorporate a little bit of a retro 2019 feeling into it, by adding alcohol to exercise. We soon discovered the beauty about walking is that nobody gets long enough to look at you, so feel free to swig your way to happiness whilst walking the promenade with a refreshing cocktail in hand. One suggestion that made it easier to gain social acceptance was to have our special GC walking cocktail, safely encased in a stay fresh thermos flask.
Based on scientific data, this led to less people thinking you had some kind of ‘problem’, and were more likely to walk along happily in your athleisure wear. GC’s resident cocktail advisor Gwendoline Crump designed us the perfect walking booze. ‘As you are going to be walking, it is probably best to stay off the dark spirits as that can cause you a massive acid buildup. Also look for something quite simple to construct, as the cup it is being drank in is not the usual way we would serve a cocktail’.
Gwendoline went further and added that a Mango and Pineapple Mojito would probably be best, as it is refreshing and it has a high water content. So you can feel guilt free in having a tipple when you are walking and go with this’
GC FUN CLUB DRINK Mango and Pineapple mojito Ingredients: Pineapple, mango, mint various white rum;s to fit your mood Non drinkers cocktail Water & misery What if I get hungry? Although illegal in Cyprus, and in no way are we endorsing that you use this in any way. We spoke to our resident GC correspondent in Colorado USA, Stuart Handlebars, and informed us that when taking a hike or a city walk, getting some fresh air and or simply fondling foliage in the mountains. One thing that helps them find things more interesting is gorging on a tasty THC treat. ‘Walking can be very boring if it feels forced upon you. One way we like to keep it interesting is to take some low level marijuana cakes to make the time pass a little more enjoyable.’ Stuart went further and outlined ‘this can slightly heighten your senses in nature, and let’s face it make you laugh at even the most banal subjects’. Why not make those lockdown baking bores more tolerable when having to listen to endless cake based anecdotes, by scoffing their wares with marijuana infused into them. Another ‘soggy bottom’ quip needn’t have you wishing for life’s sweet release via a covid cough in your direction.
WHY IS IT GOOD FOR YOU? Keen viewers of Prime Time will know our resident therapist Maria Meramveliotaki is always on hand to dispense the highest quality of advice, and as one of Limassols premier walkers, often clocking up over 100 miles a month, she outlined the many upsides for getting out of your chair and stretching your legs. ‘In a lockdown, your mental health can be quite fragile by having to live under constraints that are outside of your control. As we are bombarded with information, it is very helpful to get out and clear your head. Not only is it good for you physically, it is good for you to process your thoughts and get away from all the internal stimulus of the home.’ Ms Meramveliotaki went further stating that ‘although it may be hard to get out every day with various commitments. By getting outside it is also adding structure to your day, which can often be lost when we are in this situation’. So for those of you who thought that walking was boring, maybe you should take a GC walk on the wildside and follow our advice for the perfect walk... • • • • •
.
Add variety to your routes. 1 therapist (forex variety) GC leisure walking cocktails Water (optional) Stuarts ‘Special cakes’. *Local and national laws apply.
Don’t forget to wear your mask and discard it later in the rubbish bin!
GC:FITNESS 3 Breathing Exercises That Will Literally Change Your Life LUIS RIBEIRO Founder of Club Health www.clubhealth.uk
Our most recent article on alternative treatment therapies, touched upon the therapeutic benefits of breathing exercises.
We’ll list the steps, but if you’re the visual type, feel free to have a look at the excellent demonstrative video put together by the American Lung Association.
Today, we will take our research one step further and we will share 3 of the most beneficial breathing exercises you can perform at the comfort of your own home.
Pursed Lip Breathing Exercise Steps
Before we do that, we want to point you in the direction of science and research indicating that there is a correlation between the way you breathe and the way you think and feel. This has been an area of research for many years and the more we learn about this connection, the more treatments like breathing exercises become more and more mainstream. If we take a look at this narrative review of scientific evidence for example, we can see the beneficial effects of yogic breathing exercises in both physiological and clinical setups. Our aim here at the Club is to study the latest innovations and scientific research, learn and practice them in a way that they can become part of your life and daily routine. The exercises we are about to share with you might sound basic and simple, but much like our posture exercise guide, they can literally change your life. Let’s dive right into it.
Breathing Exercise #1: Pursed Lip Breathing We’ll start with an exercise that everyone and anyone can perform.
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1. Sit in an upright position and try to take a few moments to relax your neck and shoulder muscles.
2. Breathe in through your nose keeping your mouth closed. Try to maintain a slow, steady pace when inhaling. It should take you between 2-4 seconds to take a whole breath.
3. When breathing out, keep the same pace and technique only this time, you will do your best to release the air through pursed lips. Think of it as trying to whistle. The technique is easy to master and execute and you will be surprised as the array of benefits it is associated with. Here’s a short list of the most prominent benefits you will enjoy when practicing the pursed lip breathing exercises.
Pursed Lip Breathing Benefits • • • • •
Eases shortness of breath Gets more oxygen into your lungs Calms you down Gets rid of stale air from the lungs Improves your ability to exercise
It’s amazing what non-invasive, non-sweat and non-gear exercise can help us achieve. All you need is to allow some time in your day, be consistent and disciplined.
Make these exercises a part of your day, your routine, your daily rituals and trust us when we say that your body will thank you for this.
5. Take 3-5 seconds to inhale and 3-5 seconds to exhale.
6. All inhalations and exhalations should be made
Let’s move on to the next one.
through your nose
Breathing Exercise #2: Sama Vritti or “Equal Breathing”
7. Once you master the technique, try and prolong
Once again, we’re giving you an exercise that is simple to understand and execute. We live in an era where fitness, wellness and exercise are associated with leaving everything on the gym floor, sweating and giving 1000% of effort day in and day out.
It’s interesting to note that the equal breathing exercise is being leveraged by navy seals in stressful situations. Regulating their breath allows them to calm down and regain control of their body and thinking.
While that is a good mindset to have, it’s important to know that simplicity can also yield results. These exercises are designed to reset your body and work on the muscles and organs that might not necessarily be visible to the human eye.
Equal Breathing Benefits
Let’s take a look at the steps required to execute the equal breathing exercise.
breaths to 6-8 seconds per breath.
• • • •
Calms the body Focuses the mind making it easier to concentrate Dilutes stress Regulates the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Equal Breathing Exercise Steps
Let’s move on to exercise number 3.
1. You can execute this exercise by sitting or lying
Breathing Exercise #3: Nadi Shodhana or “Alternate Nostril Breathing”
down in a comfortable position
2. Your eyes can be open or closed. 3. For more precision have a stopwatch available. 4. The secret is in the name “ equal”.
This is where our exercises are starting to become more playful and fun. As the name suggests, for this exercise you will have to alternate nostrils when allowing air into your lungs. Why, you might ask? First, let’s get down to the explanation of the exercise and then we can dive into its benefits and unique setup.
GAME CHANGERS Issue #31
Alternate Nostril Breathing Steps
1. Sit in a comfortable position with your legs crossed. 2. Place your left hand on your left knee and raise your right hand towards your nose.
3. Exhale completely and then use your right thumb to
Why go into all this trouble of blocking air through one nostril and not just inhale from both as usual? Here’s a list of the benefits that make alternate nostril breathing so popular.
Alternate Nostril Breathing Benefits •
close your right nostril.
4. Inhale through your left nostril and then close the
• •
left nostril with your fingers.
5. Open the right nostril and exhale through this side. 6. Repeat the technique and alternate between nostrils.
7. Keep this up to 5 minutes. If this is hard to pick up, please have a look at this beautiful video by famous yogi YouTuber, Adriene, where she explains and showcases the exercise step by step.
•
Improves lung function and respiratory endurance Cures headaches Lowers stress and improves cardiovascular function Allows oxygen to activate both the right side of the brain—which is the source of your creativity and imagination—and the left side—which controls reason and logic.
Recap There you have it. Three exercises that will give your body a breath of fresh air (pun intended). For more exercises feel free to contact the Club via email or phone and we will be more than happy to share it with you.
Now let’s get down to the benefits. Stay tuned as there is more actionable content coming your way.
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ISSUE #31
THE JOURNAL FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS
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