Your profile is very unique as you have worked in London , Hong Kong and Australia – how do you leverage your experience , knowledge and skill set ?
" I don ’ t think there is one part of our industry that has changed as much as the Trading desk . Analysts and PM ’ s are basically still using the same techniques to evaluate companies they were 20 years ago but Trading has gone from static pricing and verbally placed orders to sophisticated order and execution management systems with live pricing and electronic / block trading platforms and very different market structures . Regardless of where they are , by and large , Trading Desks are doing the same thing but to varying degrees their processes and systems have historical hangovers which detract from a Trading desk ’ s productivity . This is where I have added value . I ’ m a bit of a process efficiency nut because I don ’ t think anyone should spend more time on something that doesn ’ t add any value . Why mouse click 4 times before I can get an order to market ? It ’ s a waste of time . Extract efficiencies using technology and there is more time for Traders to add value for their analysts and PM ’ s ."
How would you describe the differences in trading culture between the continents you have worked in ?
" On the trading side I ’ d say the Brits are probably most similar to the Aussies , we ’ ll get out there and have an educated swing . Asian culture is a bit more demure which is why VWAP is still a favoured benchmark .
On value-add to the analysts and PMs , this is where cultural mores also come to the fore . Some cultures are more willing than others to put themselves out there ; everybody fears failure or ridicule but you ’ ve just got to start . If you ’ re dealing with reasonable people they will appreciate what you ’ re trying to do and help you drill-down on what ’ s important to them . Kick a few goals though and it becomes selfreinforcing ."
With such a diverse background with geographical variation and skills ranking from quant to high touch ; are there any areas that you particularly prefer or miss ?
" Not really . I started in equity derivatives , left the desk for a while doing some top- down portfolio management then back again doing cash equities before a short stint on the sell-side . It ’ s great that within this industry there are so many paths you can follow .
I do question sometimes whether the evolution of the market structure we have today ; fragmentation , tighter spreads with less volume on the touch and the prevalence of electronic trading have really been advancements for market efficiency . Prior to moving to London from Sydney , I could comfortably execute a 20 % ADV order and push that to 40-50 % by finding clips to cross with minimal market impact . On my return 5 years and a second exchange later I was shocked at how easily a stock would move . Now it feels like a 10 % ADV order can have a noticeable impact . Is that progress ?"
Highlights of your career to date ?
" The highlight has been that I ’ ve managed to survive 30 years in the industry ! Sure , there have been highs and lows ; a couple of hiatuses out of the industry ( 9 / 11 and the GFC ... market timing is definitely not my strong point ) but I ’ ve been fortunate enough to bounce back from the lows .
It ’ s an interesting time to be in the Australian market . Yes , the local financial industry took some lumps from the GFC but the rest of the economy actually didn ’ t do badly thanks to a resources boom . Post that boom the economy managed to transition nicely too . I think we ’ re into the 26th year of uninterrupted expansion .
That has meant that the country ’ s superannuation ( pension ) pool continues to grow and now exceeds
22 www . buysideintel . com Summer 2018