OvertEd Markets

JOSHUA BENTLEY

Co-Founder & Head of Research at OvertEd Markets

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 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.

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

and market share analysis across time frames and regions. We also provide neutral market insight, regional insight and tools to help brokers understand why prospects choose to trade with them and their competitors and why they do not. We have no affiliation to any brand and can greatly improve client

acquisition and reduce marketing costs via improved budget allocation and regional targeting, as well as driving commercial strategy via the wealth of data and insight we provide. We provide all of this functionality at a click of a mouse via a cloud-based platform.

Q With marketing now being so region specific with its message, can OvertEd Markets help make your message more laser focused?

Absolutely, I think one of the key benefits of the OvertEd Markets platform is that it provides brokers with real-time data on regional markets and informs them which other brokers are targeting these regions, as well as which brokers are successfully converting prospects into clients and how they are achieving this. Importantly, as all our regional data is generated using the same algorithms, like-for-like comparable analysis is possible.

Q In the world of marketing there are many new technologies that are often a solution looking for a problem to solve. How is yours different?

This is a great question and in the early days of building OvertEd Markets we possibly focused on features that attempted to solve problems that although existed, were not of high priority. In order to overcome this, we listened to brokers when they told us what their most important challenges were and used our data to build a solution. By accepting that the client is best placed to understand their own challenges and that our job is to come up with the right solution we are able to offer a product that we know works and adds value. We even had a client say wow on a call last week! Hopefully, this wasn’t a yawn that I misinterpreted!

Q Can OvertEd Markets reduce time and improve the marketing intelligence a brand has?

Absolutely, it is the most cost effective and time efficient way to power your marketing based on top quality, data driven, market intelligence.

Q Is it hard to use or integrate with my existing technology?

Absolutely not, OvertEd Markets is a standalone web application that simply requires an email address and password. In fact, you don’t even need to remember your password, as we provide a reset button!

Q How can OvertEd Markets help a brokerage improve its profits?

OvertEd Markets can reduce marketing costs, improve client acquisition and ensure commercial and product strategy is driven by what works well in the market. Collectively, this could have a significant impact on profitability. You would also have more informed and knowledgeable teams as a by-product.

Q What’s the best way for someone to learn more about your service?

You can email us at info@overtedmarkets.com or connect with me directly on LinkedIn and we can arrange a call to see how we can best unearth instant value for your broker.

Visit our website for more information

www.overtedmarkets.com