ISSUE #5 Vol. 1
Tulip Mania In The 21st Century Paul Orford
The Cost Of Solutions Chris Ward
Recovering TRUST In Digital Currency Julian Kramer
Diamonds Are Not A Binary Option Ludovic Vuillier
The Social Economy Boom
Kenneth Bach
Nice Guys Do Finish First Jeffrey Ng
Bitcoin's Unstoppable Surge Jonathan Baumgart
Talk Of The Town Mikael Breinholst
VOLUME 1 | ISSUE #5
DIRECTORY Editors Note
3
By Paul Orford
Talk Of The Town
5-6
Interview with CEO Mikael Breinholst
Tulip Mania In The 21st Century
9-10
Article by Paul Orford for Finance Feeds
The Cost Of Solutions
13
Interview with CEO Chris Ward
Recovering Trust In Digital Currency 17-18 Article by CEO Julian Kramer
Diamonds Are Not A Binary Option!
21
Article by CEO Ludovic Vuillier
The Social Economy Boom
24-25
Interview with CO-Founder Kenneth Bach
Good Guys Do Finish First!
29-30
Interview with Jeffrey Ng
Bitcoin's Unstoppable Surge Article CEO Jonathan Baumgart
33
View From The Top
Welcome Back!
F
irst of all a big thank you to all the positive feedback from the IFX Expo held in Limassol last month. It was great to meet so many of our readers and contributors, and enjoy the positive feedback that we were given. With the open source news policy that we have, we are glad to see that this has gained traction for both readership and as a platform to hopefully inform and educate you a little more than prior to reading the publication. I personally find May to be one of the busier months in my schedule with various expos and events, along with the financial year moving at a fast pace towards the summer period. It can perhaps be one of the most rewarding parts of the year, as you can see how far you have come with the
implementation of the plans you have formulated at the start of the year. From the conversations that I have had from the ‘Game Changers’ we have interviewed, this month can be critical in the make or break of your year. So focus on the job in hand and let’s finish this year strong! We are often contacted and asked what qualities are required to appear in your publication. Our aim is to have conversations with people who we believe the reader can get some interest or learn something new from their service. From a personal perspective I preferred to read this rather than some bland PR piece. You can propose or nominate someone for us to cover by contacting us via the website and we are happy to discuss it further with you.
Pau l All the best and Don't Give Up! Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
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TALK OF THE TOWN Interview with CEO Mikael Breinholst
Prior to being the CEO of Tradeworks you have had a rich and varied career. Can you outline some of your personal highlights. Before Tradeworks I have been fortunate to work with many talented people in small IT companies as well as global financial institutions. When you work for big companies you tend to forget the beauty of every time a client pays for your services. One of the highlights in my career was the first time a complete stranger decided to make a purchase from my first start-up. I woke up one morning and saw that during the night we got our first $20 in revenue, what a moment. These moments teaches you to appreciate each client and the business they bring to you.
Since my humble beginning trading the financial markets in 1998, I have always found that there was a direct correlation between my results and the efforts I put into it. Tradeworks was founded as a direct response to the fact that private traders are not able to exponentially grow their efforts, by applying advanced trading technology to their toolbox, the same way large financial institutions are. As a trader you can either become a programmer or you are left with reading the news and clicking on buy and sell buttons all day. For most people this means you are stuck with uncontrollable emotions, irrational behaviour and never getting any sleep. This is just not acceptable so we built Tradeworks. Many brokerages may consider both you and your competitors to have similar software. Where do you see yourself as different? (detail that you can quantify your data)
What was your driving motivation behind Tradeworks? Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
There are many software vendors in the market place, absolutely, however, we pride ourselves as being able
to deliver measurable results to our clients. The trader can see a full performance breakdown of each of his strategies performance in real time and his broker can easily measure the trading volume coming from their clients' algorithms in Tradeworks. In the algo trading space we are among the few technology providers who have gone all the way and removed all programming from the interface and we are often complimented for the clean and intuitive interface in Tradeworks.
Is there a specific type of brokerage that should be more aware of your business? Any broker in the MT4/MT5 space that is interested in a fruitful long term partnership with their clients should consider Tradeworks to help them transform their algorithmic trading offering. Many people always miss the most important aspect of this, the end user. How can it benefit the a new or experienced trader? Page 5
Tradeworks is specially tailored for all traders looking for the benefits of algo-trading, but prefer not to have to programme the algorithm themselves. We have users with many backgrounds from traders just getting into the market to full-time traders with decades of experience. Highlighting just one group of traders it would be those that are new to algo-trading that we are able to give a significant boost.
You have a number of offices all over the world and have just opened a new office in Cyprus. Can you give us a brief run down on Graham and George and what their role is. You are right. Although our headquarters are in Denmark, we have always seen our company as a global company. We opened our Singapore office when the company was just a year and a half old and recently opened up in Cyprus as well. We have been fortunate to find two great people to run all our operations in Cyprus and simultaneously head up our sales efforts in EMEA, Graham and George, and they are doing a great job communicating how Tradeworks helps online brokers grow their business. Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
Do you have what it takes to be a Game Changer? CONTACT US NOW info@gchangersmag.com
www.gchangersmag.com
Page 6
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Witnessing Tulip Mania st In The 21 Century
FIRST PUBLISHED ON MAY 30, 2017 By Paul Orford for Finance Feeds
Are we witnessing the Tulip Mania of the 21st century? May the 17th century tulip mania teach us anything about the recent changes in Bitcoin prices? Paul Orford makes a point on history repeating itself. This is a guest editorial by Paul Orford, Head of Institutional Sales at AMB Prime. At the time of writing this article, the popular Crypto Currency BitCoin had just reached the price of around $2700 USD per coin. Much like many other people, the rocket like trajectory in its value had piqued my interest in finding out more about it. When performing a cursory look at the charts to try and grasp some form of analysis on price direction, I could not help think about whether this was similar to the ‘Tulip mania’ experienced within the Netherlands in the 17th century. My thought process for this began by trying to source some form of reliable fundamental data. This proved to be scant in the way of solid empirical information which I can either verify, improve or disprove by my observation. Moreover the technical analysis I am offered I tend to treat with a certain amount of healthy scepticism as the market is so new. Paul Orford, Head of Institutional Sales, AMB Prime. Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
To give you some background to the story in case you are not aware of the state of 17th Century Dutch agriculture (it is a very small club to be in if you do!) the tulip was first introduced mid-16th century and soon became both a status symbol and a luxury item. With the Dutch creating many of the modern techniques in modern finance, they established a market for tulip bulbs with short selling being banned from 1610 onwards. With the flower growing in popularity, professional growers paid higher prices creating further interest and appetite within this new area of speculation. Demand then grew ostensibly due to French speculators entering the market en masse, giving upward momentum to the prices continued rise fetching hundreds of guilders and leading to the development of a futures market based on the bulb. Reaching its peak in the winter of 1636-37 many bulbs were exchanged as much as 10 times per day without ever being physically held. With the market collapsing in February 1637 due to no deliveries being made, this resulted in the price collapsing and leaving large parts of the populace destitute and the government indebted due to their rampant and blind speculation. The modern discussion of Tulip Mania began with Scottish Journalist Charles Mackay within his book ‘Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds’ being published in 1841. He proposed that people often behave irrationally and Tulip Mania followed the Page 9
same characteristics as the South Sea Bubble and the Mississippi company scheme being used as primary examples. The evidence that Mackay believes why this is possible, is due to it catching the attention of the entire nation. He goes further by outlining the extent of the mania by describing it as “the population, even to its lowest dregs, embarked in the tulip trade”. Mackay notes that one transaction took place of 100,000 Florins for 40 bulbs. To put this into context in that era, 1 ton of butter would have cost around 100 Florins and a skilled labourer would earn between 150 – 350 Florins per year. By the very nature of the Internet the communication and information that is passed on us via this medium has perhaps made the Netherlands writ large, where we are constantly bombarded with ‘evidence’ to say why it won’t stop until $10,000 USD per coin with little or no fact to back this up. To use Mackay’s terms and methodology we could be moving into a global mania with little credible reason to understand why the price is rising. I am not looking to argue the rights or wrongs of crypto transactions, and for what it is worth I think it is the next step in our financial evolution. Moreover, I was more intrigued to see the similarities of a dramatic increase in the price and the actions of the participants within it. I think when looking at BitCoin in the short term, it maybe pertinent to remember the 20th century’s leading proponent in American Liberalism JK Galbraith. In his Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
work entitled “A Short History of Financial Euphoria” he isolated the four trends which he believes signify investment mania.
• The investors lose sight of risk and focus only on the rewards. • A belief that there are new circumstances in the world that justify higher than normal valuations. • The illusion that despite temporary setbacks, values are certain to continue rising. • Condemnation of those who express doubt or dissent to the currently bullish view. Needless to say all four of these indicators are prevalent within this market if you are looking to utilize it for speculative purposes, rather than use it for its transactional raison d’etre. Although I do expect to get people to send me lots of option four via private messaging and tied to bricks being thrown through my window. I think it is always pertinent to look back at some of the lessons history has taught us to perhaps guide us for the future. Alternatively, you can shave the cat and sell the fur and go all in…the choice is yours. Page 10
THE COST OF SOLUTIONS
Interview with CEO Chris Ward
1. Can you give us an outline regarding your professional history? I started with IBM in the very early ‘90s and through the insurance markets moved into financial services in the mid ‘90s. From there I setup a software company supplying exchange connectivity and the very first online CFD trading platform. I then made a name for myself supplying global industry leaders with CFD and FX trading platforms before joining ODL Securities in 2006. After ODL, I went to IG Group until 2015, when Star Hat Solutions was conceived with Bill Newton (co-founder of ODL securities). 2. What was the driving motivation to develop Star Hat? (ODL founder, competitors making money on trading commissions.) In my many dealings with institutional integration over many years, it has become apparent to me that many firms offer poor technology and service on outrageous business terms. Whilst institutions understand that IT is vital to their trading services, they are coerced into commission structures with unregulated technology firms who under-invest in their solutions. Having worked extensively with Bill before at ODL securities, I knew I wanted to work with him further and we conceived star hat solutions to Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
offer our philosophy out to a wider audience.
We have a team which has traditionally been engaged by the biggest brokers and exchanges who now offer low, fixed monthly cost solutions with no trading commission charges. Combined with our philosophy of mutual success and listening to our customers, we think we occupy a pretty unique place within the market. 5. Is there a specific market segment who would benefit most from your product?
CEO Chris Ward
3. Do you think being based in London has helped grow your brand? (Developed a ot of partnerships over many years of experience, etc.) I was born in London and I have always been proud of it as a city and as a place of global commerce. Without a doubt, the relationships we have built up over the years and the trust from being a “safe pair of hands” are instrumental to our success. Having worked in Finance for brokers and exchanges since the electronic trading roll-out in the 1990s means that we truly understand this business. The City has always been a key part of this – it’s in our DNA. Along with the grey hair. 4. With quite a crowded market out there, how do you feel Star Hat differs from your competitors? (no commissions, cost etc.)
Having been instrumental in building global brand leaders in this area, I would say we want to do more of that, so anyone who is aspiring to rapidly scale their business whilst improving their quality should be partnering with us. 6. What are your plans for 2017? The regulatory focus on transparency and best execution means that our no commission model and our price feed and trading aggregation engine (provided free as part of our bridge solution) offer provable, cost effective best execution, as well as reliability and redundancy built in. Coupled with our reporting solutions this provides our expanding client list with the solutions they need to take their business to the next level. 2017 will be an exciting year for all of us.
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Recovering Trust In Digital Currency Article by CEO Julian Kramer
A currency increasing in value in 200% in about four months and becoming more and more attractive to investors worldwide. Regardless of the size and structure of the country’s economy, for any government in the world this scenario could be hardly achievable. But not for the crypto. On June 12 several exchanges including Coinbase and Bitfinex registered a 200% rise in Bitcoin price, that hit an all-time high of $2,983,55, according to BNC Index. The combined market cap of all crypto currencies, including also Litecoin, Ethereum and Ripple, reached $100 billion for the first time in history and is still projected to grow. Full anonymity of blockchain operations along with rapid increase in value to fiat currencies can be a powerful economic tool for those national and supra-national authorities, that first learn to efficiently regulate crypto currency and offer secure conditions for retail investors. Introducing efficient worldwide regulation for crypto currency will definitely take time and effort, since there is still much debate on how to turn the first viable decentralized and most democratic form of digital cash in reliable tool for investors. But you know that in the end it is worth it. Japan, a current leader in crypto currency regulation and the only country in the world that offers official licensing of crypto currency exchanges, had to go through the tough case of Mt. Gox, a sadly famous ‘bitcoin disaster’ with around $460 million stolen by cyber criminals and lost by the management, to learn lessons on crypto currency regulation. Now Japan has recovered trust in digital currency and become one of the largest centres of bitcoin trading, since it became a fully legal currency: JFSA (Financial Services Agency of Japan) issues licenses for digital currency exchange and its biggest retailers are already accepting payments in crypto currency. According to Bitlegal, Japanese regulatory authority has also signed fintech cooperation agreements with Singapore and UK financial regulatory bodies to facilitate the process of entry to digital currency market. So, what do you exactly have to do to enter Japanese crypto currency exchange market? ‘Any company willing to provide a digital currency exchange in Japan needs a minimum capital of 10 million yen ($90,809), government registration, sufficient level of IT defence against theft and loss, has to provide information on trading address, Page 17
registration and fees, KYC (know-your-clients) protocols, as well as to have accordingly qualified director and head of AML division’, explains Julian Kramer, CEO of OFFSHORELICENSE. ‘It may sound not that easy, but it pays off eventually. FX margin trading in Japan is around $10 trillion per quarter and even a little part of that converted in crypto currency is a very desirable prize. We are lucky enough to have experience in Asian markets, so we already started offering assistance to customers in obtaining crypto licenses in Japan. I really believe, that those, who catch the moment with digital currencies today, will definitely enjoy great profits tomorrow’.
For the time being, only three crypto currency companies were awarded BitLicenses, while other multiple applicants were denied. According to Bitcoin magazine, there still is neither political consensus in US concerning digital currency business, nor enough encouragement by federal banking regulators to banks to run business with digital currency and fintech start ups. Some states, like Delaware, cautiously familiarize themselves with the idea of blockchain by suggesting distributed ledger share registers, but there still is a way to go. Along with the mentioned above countries, European Parliament and Russia has also announced the plans to proceed with blockchain regulation, but no clear plans have been laid out so far.
While Japan is already well ahead with bitcoin regulations, other countries are still half-way in this direction. According to the report of Asia Securities Industry and Financial Markets Associations (ASIFMA), governments across the Asian region have launched numerous initiatives to attract, at least, a part of $100 billion global fintech investments, but due to the lack of adequate regulatory framework, along with Hong Kong and Singapore historical rivalry, they are still losing the competition. For instance, in Hong Kong one can obtain a money exchange license and run a crypto currency exchange, but that would be the same license as of an online retailer. In Singapore, the central bank proposed to regulate crypto currency exchangers as payment firms. This lack of adequate regulation makes fintech companies of these countries by far less competitive on international markets, as well as makes their markets less attractive to foreign investors. Surprisingly enough, the world’s biggest economy is also struggling with bitcoin regulation. In 2015, the US defined bitcoin as a commodity, which could be regulated by the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), but the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) refused to consider it as a security. Trying to cope with this challenge, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) introduced a business license for crypto currency activities (BitLicense) already in 2015, but due to the lack of clear definition of virtual currency it lead to a so-called ‘Great Bitcoin Exodus’ (The New York Business Journal), when at least ten bitcoin companies stopped their business in NY. Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
Generally, the key questions that are still to be answered are what exactly to regulate, the blockchain codes, or the use of these codes, how to secure ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) for the investors, how to tax digital currency activities and how to prevent financing of terrorism and organized crime. In the end of May 2017 an Indian blockchain consortium BankChain introduced a permissioned blockchain for integrated and shared KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing). It allows sharing of KYC data, investigation reports, suspicious transaction reports, and cross-border wire transfer reports. Such developments are a clear signal that the business is ready to work on additional regulation and transparency for digital currency, so this is a good time for the governments to back up these initiatives with efficient regulatory framework. And now it is up to investors to decide whether to wait for the digital currency developments in their countries or buy a ticket and go to Japan. Page 18
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A diamond feed is not a binary choice! Article by CEO Ludovic Vuillier
There are thousands of brokers worldwide. But only a few really stand out. What do they do differently? They are always on the lookout for something that will give them an edge. A few years ago, the ‘new kid on the block’ was binary options. Many brokers diversified into this market. Putting my personal thoughts aside about this market, let me just say it loud and clear. Binary Options were doomed from the beginning. It is not a real market, meaning that it had an expiry date the minute it was created. The only question was how long it would survive. Recently, I was told by someone that she heard that diamonds were going to take over instead of Binary Options. Here are the reasons why this is not the case: 1) Diamonds are an actual market; binary options are not Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
this is a point of pride 2) Binary options target low-level and unsophisticated investors; diamonds require a deeper understanding of the market 3) One of the attractive things about binary options was its simplicity - would the price go up or down in any given time. Nothing else. Whereas diamonds require more analysis. 4) Binary options gives you the option of using leverage; if you’re trading actual diamonds, you don’t have leverage available to you. 5) Binary options had a very high risk/ high reward profile; diamonds has a low risk/ low reward profile. So Binary Options are not the right comparison. What is the right comparison, then? Tiger shrimp? I’m serious. Tiger Shrimp can be traded as a commodity. Why? As I started off by saying, the markets are eternally on the lookout for something new. Something that
will give them an edge. The commodities market also. Hence the Tiger Shrimp. But Tiger Shrimp is not something most people can get excited about. One commodity has been continuously overlooked even though it is traded in the millions every year and everyone knows its name. Diamonds. At this point I could write a book as to why it’s been overlooked up until now. Suffice it to say that it’s related to politics and a lack of creativity. We fixed both. We come from outside the diamond industry so we have no internal conflicts. And our creativity has allowed us to solve some of the issues surrounding the creation of a tradable diamond index. And unlike Tiger Shrimp, diamonds are something people can get excited about. And unlike unreal markets, this one is here to last. After all, diamonds are forever.
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The Social Economy Boom Interview with Co-Founder Kenneth Bach
Can you give us an outline of your background and the valuable experiences you gained working for industry giant Saxo Bank and with Draupnir Investment Fund. After many years of working within the financial sector for various institutions since the mid-nineties, I saw the need for a medium where you could gather information uncoloured by the financial sector and the general media. My focus was medium to long term investments. The entity which we created was named euroinvestorprivat.dk which is a subsidiary of the Saxobank group. We offered an exchange where retail investors could offer their savings to the banks for a better rate of return. We were the first to do it in Denmark. Working with Saxobank was an eye opener to what can be done with technology if you have the right knowledge within a certain field. Being a pioneer within the online trader community Saxobank has grown to be one of the leaders. The organisation is very focussed and is always aiming to impose a winning mentality to all their employees. If they see a good project or a new way of doing things they are not afraid to try it out and throw money at it. Conversely if it doesn’t work they do not hesitate to cut it loose again even if they loose money in the short term. It is a very professional and well run organisation. Moreover, it is going to be exciting with the new owners structure after Mr. Lars Seier has left the company. Mr. Kim Fournais and the new Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
owners will definitely focus on new markets and work the synergy to perform its best. I sold the company euroinvestorprivat.dk in 2012 and started a fund in Luxembourg, Draupnir Investment Fund, with my present business partner Mr. Jan Thygesen. Jan is an industry veteran of almost 20 years. Our fund focuses on retirement funds and with a low risk sector rotation ETF strategy. The fund has a modest AUM and almost runs itself with a few adjustments once or twice a month. Did this have any influence on you in your thought process when designing Investwits? The previous years of experiences I gained from Saxobank, euroinvestorprivat.dk and running our own fund influenced me in creating investwits.com. We saw what could be done with industry knowledge and technology to do things differently for the retail investor. The retail investor is always the last to know when something happens. It could be a political incident, news from a company or otherwise. When searching the Internet for news on a certain asset it is not always clear how old it is or if it is ”planted” by someone looking to use it for their own ends. Today social economy is booming. Shared cars, company facilities, and so forth. Social knowledge within retail investments is often shared by facebook groups or different chat rooms. The problem is not always the info shared, but the threads. Sometimes there is too much information and it is
complex to navigate it. What really caught my eye was the social aspect to Investwits. For the reader who are not aware, can you elaborate more on how this works. We wanted to create ”facebook for investments”. The whole operational experience had to be the same as facebook. Today almost everybody knows what a post or a group is. People know how to share, comment and embed video and photos on social media. Investwits.com is built this way. The groups are companies, forex pairs or indices. You become member of the groups of your interest where you can ask questions and receive answers, add graphs and video also. investwits.com aggregate the newest information from the internet only on the points of your interest and mix it with other member's ideas and posts. You keep out old news and all the noise that you don't need.
"We believe in keeping it simple! " From my experience a lot of brokerages believe they are fully integrated with social media. How can you enhance their ability in this medium? Social investing as we see it today is a one way communication from the brokerage to the retail investor. They are trying to get new clients, and they should. The other aspect is social trading where you follow a leader. We think there are a lot of retail
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Some new software can be a logistical nightmare. How easy is this to implement for the brokerage?
CO-Founder Kenneth Bach investors who are capable of making their own decisions, but want to discuss strategies and experiences with like minded people and not with a salesperson. Investwits.com gives the brokerages the possibility to do this. The brokerages cannot for lack of another and better word ”steal” each others customers, as you can’t see on a profile where it is ”hosted” and by which brokerage. Some feel there is a lot of noise out there with new software. How can you differentiate yourself from other new providers? What gives you the upper hand and staying power? We’ve found that you can keep investors and build loyalty by letting them connect with other users, and their broker to ask Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
questions, discuss strategies and more. We created a real community, and the brokerage customers would love to join it! investwits.com has a Plug and Play, smooth, modern individual design in regards to logo and colours that will impress your members. encourage them to stay and inspire them to invite their business contacts and friends. This is the perfect way to keep investors and build loyalty. Moreover, it has many features and options for the end user. This includes a personal portfolio cockpit, video galleries, activity streams and event options. And a two click trading option. The white label solution looks amazing and works perfectly on every device: laptop, desktop, phone and tablet.
Plug and play. Everything runs on our servers. All the brokerage has to do is adding a registration and login link to their sites! It could not be any easier to use. We offer what we know to be several competitive packages, where the brokerage can have a personalised solution with their logo etc. Furthermore, Investwits receives a standard affiliate fee per CPA or equivalent for introducing new clients. With no set up costs it could not be easier to use the service as there is no downside for the brokerage who incorporates this into their service. With a lot of industry interest in your product, what does the next 18 months hold for Investwits? Our main task is to link as many brokerages, financial websites and related organisations together as soon as possible and develop long term partnerships such as the one we have just signed with Admiral Markets. Our overall aim is to build the worlds biggest investor community for the retail client. We want to form alliances with the exchanges so that their websites also can be more useful and accessible for the retail investor. There is so much valuable information held here that could be beneficial to the retail investor in their decision making process.
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Nice Guys Do Finish First!
Interview with Jeffrey Ng
If you have ever worked in retail FX and had to cover SE Asia, you would have probably have come up against the behemoth that is Monex Investindo Futures as one of your competitors. Opening in 2000 Monex was one of Indonesia’s first brokerages to offer a retail FX service. Moreover in an industry where any brokerage that celebrates being open for over 5 years is viewed as being a mature business, Monex has gained the added credibility of giving their clients the peace of mind knowing they will be here for the long haul. Having achieved a market share averaging 25% over the past 10 years, from a country that has a population of 257 million people cannot be generated by fluke or following the latest industry fad. From my experience, this is as a result of treating your clients graciously, and not taking the clients for granted once the majority market share has occurred.
to know how Monex Investindo Futures has continued to be a leader in the Indonesian market? Jeffrey Ng I believe that we have maintained our strong market share for several reasons. Primarily our clients have the bond of trust developed by our longevity as a business. Our ethos is based upon being gracious as a leader and never taking their support for granted. Having been formed in 2000 we have a long and enviable track record based upon providing a beneficial service for our clients. When you become a familiar face or brand, the end user knows that they are dealing with a trusted company, so sending a receptive message out is a lot easier. That’s not to say that we will rest on our laurels, we are constantly having to strive to stay ahead of our competitors and still offer a market defining product. Paul Orford Having a long term presence is one facet. What else would you say has formed a pillar in your service? Jeffrey Ng Giving people face – to – face access is very important to us as we believe offering a personal relationship with our clients, rather than just have a web based interaction which is the market norm. We can really get to know our clients on a personal level and find out how they are looking to use our service. From this we can design a specific tailor made service based upon this.
We speak with Advisor to the Executive Chairman & Board Jeffrey Ng to find out more about the ethos of Monex Investindo Futures. Paul Orford Hello Jeffrey thanks for taking the time to speak with us. Firstly, I curious Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
We have a considerable network of branch offices throughout 8 regions which gives us a more personal approach. As we are a locally owned business we believe that we have a more refined idea on what can help our clients. It is very hard for any major name brokerage from outside this country have such a comprehensive infrastructure and local knowledge. Page 29
Paul Orford Apart from the relationship based aspect to your service, this is a constantly evolving industry that you need to keep offering your clients more than just a tight spread and multiple deposit methods. How does Monex Investindo Futures cater for this? Jeffrey Ng This is where we believe we excel. Not only do we offer in-depth news and analysis for our clients with our Monex News website. This covers news and analysis from our in-house team. Moreover, we offer for our clients the Tradeworks suite of products which can also hopefully develop a consistency for the clients in their decision making. By offering something of real value to the client, we believe shows them that we are looking to aide them in achieving their goals. Moreover as a tool it has assisted us as a brokerage measuring the many metrics that can be challenging to complete. Paul Orford For the second half of the year what are the plans going forward? Jeffrey Ng Without having to speak in generic marketing terms, we are striving to offer our client the most user friendly and customer centric experience within Indonesia. We will be looking to expand our customer’s awareness of our brand by adding to the already substantial portfolio of technology that we currently offer. Game Changers Issue #5 | Vol 1.
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Article by CEO Jonathan Baumgart Bitcoin's unstoppable surge both this year and in the past month has landed on the radar of just about every financial news source and investor. When compared to other assets, a bet on Bitcoin this year would have yielded a tidy profit. Now the question everyone is asking is whether crypto currencies will be accepted as a financial staple, or simply become a flash in the pan type of investment? One challenge I see crypto currencies facing is the anonymity aspect that both irks governments for tax collecting purposes as well as combating terrorism, drug enforcement, and human trafficking. Governments and taxes for that matter won't go away any time soon, making this a stumbling block to long term acceptance of Bitcoin. On the other hand, Bitcoin can be an effective means of exchange in countries with severe economic problems, especially inflation. By avoiding the local currency, services and goods can be exchanged on a relatively more stable venue, which prevents these countries from spiralling further out of control. Here Bitcoin serves a legitimate purpose that can be viewed as intrinsically positive. Another major long term challenge to Bitcoin is that it has no specific backing. This means that the surge in price we are seeing has made it very much a self fulfilling prophecy. This makes for volatility in both directions, lest we forget the Mt. Gox incident some years back. Because Bitcoin has no historical precedent, it's difficult for anyone to confidently predict what will happen. In my view, only time will determine how the Bitcoin story will play out. Page 33
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The Journal for Industry Leaders
ISSUE #5
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