“ Everyone has their own core interests which then leads into how they fulfil their roles within the team.”
GEOFF HEALY, SENIOR FX TRADER
Geoff Healy
somebody working on a particularly important project but there are people on the team doing the groundwork which allows for those other team members to focus on specific projects and niches. Everything is a team effort, hence this FX Trading Desk of the Year award is a team win!”
Healy agrees, adding:“ When it comes to personnel, we ' re fortunate at Fidelity that we ' ve got a strong set of individuals sitting across the regions, each with different core strengths and interests allowing them to add value in different areas.”
Hard skills get the job, soft skills get you noticed When it comes to the group dynamic, the team is quick to highlight that the size of the desk informs a lot of the pursuit for well-rounded individuals. As Todd explains, each individual on the desk needs to be able to do a bit of everything.
He adds:“ In my global seat, as part of my remit, I ' m able to ensure global consistency and cohesive approaches to workflows and policies and procedures and how we face the street and conduct broker reviews.”
The need for flexibility to succeed as a trader has become the topic du jour across the industry at various events and conferences over the last few years. Conversations around what makes for the‘ perfect’ trader has shifted focus – no longer is the role solely relationship-focused or solely datafocused, it has become something in between.
“ Something I heard recently rings very true, it ' s the hard skills that get you the job, but it ' s the soft
skills that get you noticed [...] building upon those soft skills is important and sometimes probably overlooked,” says Todd.
“ What also goes hand in hand with that is putting yourself forward for opportunities, sometimes one door closes another door opens. Always try to take the opportunities when they come because that gives you exposure to new people, new teams, new ways of doing things.”
The team share the ethos that proactivity is essential to the success of a trader. Though the desk is clearly imbued with a focus on continual evolution in order to get the best outcomes, the soft skills remain what makes the difference- style and
“ How you treat others is key, doing so with humility and respect and in a way that is credible is paramount. I always refer to the saying, it’ s not what you do, but how you do it.”
NIGELL TODD, HEAD OF GLOBAL FX TRADING
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