[ C L O S I N G B E L L ]
Goodbye for now
It’ s hard to put into words just how much I’ ve enjoyed writing for, and subsequently leading, this publication. I’ ve learnt so much over the last five and a half years and I’ m excited to embark on another ridiculously steep learning curve once again as I take on my new role. Watch this space. I found The TRADE and the world of trading by some happy accident. Having just finished my master’ s degree in journalism in 2020 I stumbled across a reporting opportunity at The TRADE, working for Hayley McDowell who most of you now know as RBC’ s market structure guru. I started in my new role in June 2020 – aka peak pandemic – and worked remotely for the first year of my career. I met my colleagues for the first time via a video montage they’ d put together, each welcoming me onboard and wishing me luck in my new role. While a necessary evil, this extended period of remote working taught me how much I love coming into the City each day. With no previous experience of the world of trading I took it upon myself to teach myself everything I could by reading and writing as much as possible. I’ d never intended to stay in B2B financial journalism for long, but I
TRADE Editor ANNABEL SMITH says goodbye for now as she embarks on a new opportunity.
quickly fell in love with the excitement of the industry and honestly, I’ ve never looked back. Since then, we’ ve launched countless events and new products – not least Leaders in Trading New York set to take place for the second time in November – and I’ ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most intelligent and innovative individuals. Special shoutout to Jon Watkins, Tungsten chief executive and the man who gave me my first opportunity in journalism. You’ ve been an essential sounding board to me, and I hope we’ ll continue to work together for years to come. I wouldn’ t be where I am today without your advice and guidance. Shoutout also to head of design Stephan Slater, the man who brings our content to life each quarter in the form of our quarterly magazine, for your ability to make everyone laugh even when the deadlines are piling up. It’ s a cliché, but the Tungsten team is like a family, and I feel lucky to have worked with you all. Going forward, our senior reporter Claudia Preece will be taking on a new role as News Editor and I couldn’ t be more delighted to be leaving The TRADE in her extremely capable hands. Claud, your professionalism and your ability to make new connections make you the perfect fit for this role and I look forward to seeing how you take it forward. Finally, to all of the friends I have made in the industry, thank you for the memories and thank you for your continued support of The TRADE. We couldn’ t have achieved so many of our recent milestones without you. As some of you may already know, I’ m not going very far so really, it’ s only goodbye for now. I look forward to continuing to work together as part of this exciting chapter!
Annabel Smith Editor, The TRADE
78 // TheTRADE // Q3 2025