THETRADETECHFX DAILY final say
Give us some background into TradeTech FX – how has it grown , when do you start planning it , and what does it take to pull together ? TradeTech FX is going into its 11th year in 2022 , so it ’ s been running a long time . Last year was our 10th anniversary but of course because it was the pandemic it was an unusual situation – we ran it in London and it was great to get the community back together , but it was a smaller event than usual by necessity – so this year is going to be the first time in a while that we ’ re back at full strength with our pan-European audience , and we ’ re all very excited . We sold out of non-buy-side passes four months ahead of time , which shows the increased demand as everyone is so keen to get back in the room with each other again after three years of lockdowns .
In terms of process , we typically start researching 10 months before the event . We have an Advisory Board of 10 buy-side FX trading and investment experts we start working with in the previous November to ensure the content is relevant . Then we kick off with 70 in-depth market research calls to determine key themes , challenges , and interest areas of the market to ensure we are covering the most pressing issues and new opportunities .
What ’ s new this year , what are the key themes and the hot topics ? It ’ s an exciting time for FX right now . What we ’ re hearing across the board is that given the high volatility environment , the asset class is back in the spotlight after many years of low volatility . Crypto and digital assets continue to be of interest to FX market participants , especially given the developments in institutional-grade infrastructure , and the growing focus from the regulators .
The impact of the energy crisis , geopolitical tensions , super inflation and rate hikes have all contributed to a very volatile market environment which has created a lot of opportunities for FX traders and PM ’ s to generate greater alpha – but it ’ s also brought a lot of challenges , namely around thin liquidity and widening spreads , that are causing concern .
We ’ ve also built a new track this year looking at the electronification of the FX derivatives market , as well as looking indepth at FX options , futures and NDF algos and streaming solutions . And this year we ’ re also keen to expand our corporate audience , as we recognise they are very much part of the broader FX ecosystem . So we ’ ve created corporate boardrooms that will be running across the two days looking at the specific challenges that they are facing right now including how they can improve their hedging and execution strategies in order to minimise their trading costs and market impact .
Tell us about your keynote speakers We ’ ve got some amazing speakers this year including Gary Collier , chief technology officer
TradeTech FX 2022 : Pulling it all together
Anna Andrews , WBR event organiser for TradeTech FX , sits down with LAURIE MCAUGHTRY to give insight into how the event was structured , why it ’ s so exciting this year , and what to watch out for in the agenda .
of Man Group , who is going to be opening our buy-side Innovation Day . We also have Umberto Alvisi , co-chief investment officer of Millennium Global Investors , who will be looking at the big theme of how to adapt to your currency strategies and FX allocation in response to volatile market conditions in order to generate greater returns for investors .
How do you keep the event fresh in terms of format ? Our focus is on what our buy-side audience want and how they want to engage , and that really comes during the research process . We ’ re doing more interactive sessions , closed door discussions , and targeted networking events to allow younger traders to get inspiration from senior leaders in the room – along with numerous buy-side only events . We always aim for a wide range of diverse formats to ensure the event remains engaging .
What session are you most looking forward to ? I always love attending the closed-door , buyside only head trader think tank . It ’ s a rare opportunity to get some of the top heads of FX trading from the biggest buy-side firms in Europe all together in one room , going into detail around their specific desk needs and FX trading strategies for the year ahead . It ’ s a great opportunity to listen and learn and it helps influence where we take the event next year . This year , Toby Baker from T . Rowe Price will be hosting our Head Trader Think Tank , and we will be exploring key topics such as new FX options e-trading platforms , liquidity initiatives , hiring and retaining new talent , and much more !
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