OvertEd Markets JOSHUA BENTLEY Co-Founder & Head of Research at OvertEd Markets
Q You have incredibly impressive academic qualifications in law, why did you now pursue this? Funnily enough, I was originally studying Economic History at the London School of Economics, but I worried that the history of coinage wasn’t going to provide me with enough relevant real-world skills, so I transferred to law. I later completed a masters degree in International banking law and ended up kicking myself after graduating top of my class with a comprehensive knowledge of how coinage was eventually regulated. I was never interested in practicing law, but the academic side does interest me and in 2016 I had funding approved to complete a PhD on the impacts of EU banking law within the UK, a highly relevant topic at the time but now only slightly below the history of coinage on the relevance scale. In all seriousness though, academia is important to both myself and OvertEd Markets due to its focus on information integrity, neutrality, and quality of analysis. We are part of the City University of London LaunchLab and actively collaborate with CASS and the London School of Economics. Other team members have also contributed to work conducted at Oxford University in relation to algorithmic trading. This is not something we could do if our credentials or product didn’t stack up. Joshua Bentley Co-Founder & Head of Research at OvertEd Markets
Q Hello Joshua, can you tell us about your background. How did you start in the FX space? Sure, I was working in strategy for a London based front-end technology company in the neo-banking space when a recruiter contacted me about an equivalent position at GAIN Capital. I had knowledge of the client facing aspects of the industry but not the commercial mechanics. The main attraction to joining a brokerage was working for an institution that provided an end-end service to clients; namely, products, markets and technology. This is quite unique as many fintech sectors operate as ecosystems with companies providing very narrow services, which in aggregate, create a product. Platform brokerages have the ability to own many more aspects of the value proposition, and this creates both opportunities and challenges. I later progressed to work with four other brands in different capacities.
Q Having worked for some of the biggest names in UK FX, what made you want to do your own thing? I really enjoyed analysing industry trends, unearthing opportunities and helping teams empathise with regional nuances. This is best achieved in a non-partisan role where you aren’t constrained by existing perceptions and can have the freedom and time to critique the landscape. More importantly, to do this effectively, I needed a dedicated expert team that could build the tools and algorithms needed to provide instant and continued value to brokers that use OvertEd Markets. Our founding team has experience across strategic research, hedge fund execution and technology. They have also previously been involved in exits to listed brokerages. Q Can you explain why a client should look at Overted Markets? OvertEd Markets is the largest knowledge base on the offering and activities of retail CFD/FX brokers globally. We have data on over 100 brokers and use proprietary tools and algorithms to conduct competitor intelligence P-7
