360T Podcast Series

Whereas Episode 31 of our podcast series focused largely on the evolution of FX algo designs, here John Quayle from NatWest Markets discusses the evolution of how buy-side firms (and indeed which buy-side firms) are using these products to improve their FX execution capabilities.  He discusses using algos to trade emerging market (EM) currencies, why corporate treasurers might be thinking about th...

What are the key factors likely to move currency markets between now and the end of the year and, perhaps more importantly, what risks aren’t currently being priced into the market? These are amongst the questions addressed by Axel Merk from Merk Investments in our latest episode. Merk also discusses the FX liquidity trends, how diverging interest rates could help certain trading strategies and wh...

In this episode Asif Razaq from BNP Paribas talks about why the pandemic has driven an uptick in the number of firms using execution algos for their FX trades and traces the evolution of these tools from basic, rules-based strategies to sophisticated and interactive ones which effectively enable human traders to augment their own skills. Razaq also delivers his view on what will come next in the F...

Stuart Simmons, Director and Head of Currency at QIC, argues in the latest episode that not only is the London 4pm Fix not a good time to trade FX on behalf of investors, but that in fact it might be the very worst time to do so.  Expanding on this, he claims that order flow imbalance lead to herd behaviour amongst investment managers trading at the Fix that in turn causes market impact which nega...

In March 2021 Millennium Global Investments published a report analysing whether emerging market (EM) currencies were priced as cheap or expensive relative to the global environment. The authors of that report, Claire Dissaux and Elisa Baku — who respectively hold the titles of Global Head of Economics and Strategy and Economist at the currency management specialist — both join the podcast to disc...

With the Uncleared Margin Rules (UMR) due to start impacting a number of buy-side firms starting this September, Van Luu, Global head of Currency at Russell Investments, discusses the preparations that his firm has been making to ensure compliance, both on their own behalf and on behalf of their clients. He then goes on to analyse how investors should be thinking about currency hedging in the Covi...

New regulatory requirements have been a huge driver of change within financial markets over the past decade, and FX has certainly not been exempt from this trend. Even now, Allan Guild, the director of Hilltop Walk Consulting, sees the direction of travel in the industry being towards a more regulated trading environment, which market participants will need to adapt to. Consequently, Guild argues...

The over-arching theme of this episode is the “tech-celeration” that has occurred in the FX industry over the past year as firms have been forced to adapt to new ways of operating. Paul Matherne, Head of FX EMEA at BNY Mellon, sees evidence of this trend in how buy-side firms are looking at custody, their willingness to use algos and their desire to automate more of their FX trading and workflows....

The discussion opens with Colin Lambert, the co-founder of the The Full FX news website, joking that he has been predicting structural changes within the FX Swaps space for a long time but that the scene might finally be set for these to actually happen. All of which begs the question: why now and not sooner? Elsewhere in the episode Lambert gives his opinion on the state of innovation within the...

In a forward-looking episode Dr. Sven Schubert from Vontobel Asset Management outlines both, why he thinks 2021 will be a risk-on year for financial markets and that volatility could pick up once again in FX towards the back end of the year. The discussion also covers the knock-on impact to the currency markets of the new Biden administration, whether the yuan could one day challenge the US dollar...

Starting the new year with a bang, this episode features three guests as Peer Joost from DIGITEC joins Lydia Solinski and Simon Bajec from 360T to discuss how the increased importance of market data is changing and shaping the FX industry. They begin by explaining how market participants should differentiate between different data sources and products and highlighting the challenges associated wit...

This episode focuses specifically on trend following, with Andrew Strasman from Chicago-based Totem Asset Group explaining why 2020 should have been a great year for firms deploying this strategy, but also why in some cases it wasn’t. He also discusses why FX has become a more frustrating asset class for trend followers to trade, makes the case that this strategy is still an effective diversificat...

Following a contentious US election Peter Lewis, who hosts one of the most popular English language radio programmes in Hong Kong, gives his perspective on what a Biden administration could mean for China and its economy. He also discusses why the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is concerned about a recent surge in the value of the yuan, the growing competition amongst APAC’s major financial centres...

This episode opens with Ian Campbell from the asset management firm TT International tracing the evolution of technology within the FX industry, explaining that one of the key changes that have emerged as a result is that firms now have many diverse options for how they want to handle different order types. He goes on to talk about trading EM currencies, explaining that whilst liquidity conditions...

Although “volatility events” like the US presidential election, Brexit trade negotiations and a second wave of Covid-19 could provide investors with short-term opportunities to benefit from trends in the currency markets, Marc Chandler from Bannockburn Global Forex argues that they’re unlikely to change the longer-term direction of currency moves.  During this episode he also discusses the potenti...

There’s been a lot of talk about NDF trading shifting towards electronic channels, but is this actually happening? Robbie Sijbrandij from Flow Traders discusses how this product segment is evolving, in addition to delivering his view on the challenges and opportunities around trading FX Futures, Outright Forwards and FX Swaps. Sijbrandij goes on to explain that for firms like Flow Traders credit r...

The upcoming US presidential election could prove to be a crucial fork in the road when it comes to financial regulation, explains Justin Slaughter, a partner at Mercury Strategies. In this episode he talks about the potential for the politicisation of US regulatory agencies, the extent to which international cooperation on financial rules could be jeopardized and whether or not geopolitical confl...

The local FX market in Mexico is ripe for change, and technology could be the catalyst for it, says Juan Garcia at Banco de México. For example, he highlights that ten years ago less than 20% of FX trading in Mexico was conducted via electronic channels, whereas today that figure is estimated to be around 60%. In this podcast episode Garcia talks about the implications of this trend, as well as an...

In this episode Saeed Amen from Cuemacro discusses the practical challenges facing firms as they try to adopt a more data-driven approach to FX trading. These include finding a source of high-quality data for non-spot FX products, overcoming the fragmented nature of the market and having the right technology with which to analyse the data being accumulated. Amen also explains that sourcing the rig...

This episode opens with MacGillivray talking about her firm’s technology stack for multi-asset dealing, explaining that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution and, therefore, the desk has instead built out a “best-of-breed” model which deploys asset class specific technology to ensure the best execution outcomes. MacGillivray also highlights areas where she sees existing technology being adapted...

In this episode Christopher Cruden, CEO and Director of the hedge fund Insch Kintore Ltd., reflects on how the FX markets have changed since he launched his first currency trading programme back in 1991 and explains how he has adapted his trading strategy accordingly. Cruden also tackles the question of why trend following strategies have generally yielded poor returns over the past decade and whe...

Institutional investment portfolios have become increasingly international over the past decade, with one unintentional consequence of this being that FX exposures have similarly increased. As Momtchil Pojarliev, Head of Currencies at BNP Paribas Asset Management, explains, the key question then becomes: how should these investors be managing this risk? In this episode Pojarliev evaluates some of...

In this episode Alejandro Padilla, Executive Director of Economic Research & Financial Markets Strategy at Grupo Financiero Banorte, gives his outlook for emerging market currencies, noting that contagion curves and stimulus policies are likely to be the main drivers of performance this year. Focusing on Latin America in particular, Padilla explains what different factors will determine curren...

The impact of technology on relationships within the FX industry is one of the central themes of this episode, with Melody Martinez-Davidson from BBVA. She explains that e-trading can actually benefit salespeople by eliminating the administration around their client’s trading activity and freeing up time to focus on more important issues. Martinez-Davidson also details, how various client types ha...

If you could go back in time six months before the pandemic, what advice would you give yourself? This is one of the questions put to JB Mackenzie, Managing Director, Futures and Forex at TD Ameritrade, in this podcast episode. He also talks about the impact of recent central bank stimulus, trading in 24 hour markets and how technology has made life better for investors.