Whereas once a financial market trader would need a phenomenal knowledge of markets, trends, history and how it may repeat itself, the new kid on the block needs a new skill set, relevant to the old, but at the same time specialist in a new way. Access to information is often free to the new guy, the knowledge that his predecessor would have had to gather over years, and with the backing of a research team.
Does that make the task any easier? Well, in some ways it may do. Certainly the barriers to entry are now much lower, but wed argue that the task itself has similar levels of pressures to those that have always existed.
Speed is vital in a way that was never possible, let alone expected, in the past. The information a trader requires may be readily available but he still needs to know what questions to ask, and what to do with the answers when he gets them. Instead of handling a small number of trades at a high margin, our new boy is likely to manage a previously unimagined number of trades, and at fine margins the old guy wouldnt get out of bed for.
One of the biggest banks providing foreign exchange services to brokers, institutional investors and others is the American giant Citi. Their foreign exchange division CitiFX Pro offers over 130 pairs and has expertise in more markets than any but the very biggest competitors. Citi are regular attendees at awards dinners in the industry, usually leaving with more silverware from magazines including Profit and Loss, Euromoney and FX Week.
Citi is supported by many specialists including businesses such as Currenex which has relationships with many of the major players, either under its own brand or as a white label supplier. Its fx platforms enable high speed execution of trades, true one click ESP (executable streaming prices) and robust order management. Currenex has been around since 1999 and is part of the financial services provider State Street Corp.
Another vital business that helps the traders keep their finger on the button is eSignal. With a wealth of reporting tools eSignal enables traders to investigate the potential results of strategies by mapping them forward, as well as keeping track of where they are with speed and accuracy, as well as offering delivery through pretty well any internet enabled device.
With such a wealth of information available in seconds the traders expertise has shifted from being able to hold volumes of information in his head, to being able to make fast decisions based on the questions he decides to ask. Its a different world, whether its an easier one would be a difficult question to answer.
