ABC Money

When is the Best Time to Sell your Home?

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21 December 2017

When is the Best Time to Sell your Home?

The property market is a constantly changing entity, and one that provides a challenging climate for owners. While 2016 saw exponential price growth that placed many potential buyers out of the market, for example, the last financial quarter has seen home-owners lower their valuations as activity has slowed considerably.

The depreciation of the market is largely attributed to the impact of Brexit, while the 35% of UK homes that have slashed prices represents the highest level of discounting in six years.

With this in mind, it’s hard to identify a viable window in which to sell your home and achieve the optimal price point. There are some generic rules to adhere to when scheduling your sale, however, and we’ll discuss these further in post below:

The Summer Months – Addressing the Peak Time for House Sales

These general rules are most accurately applied to residential property development, and it’s generally considered that the summer months between June and August represent the peak period for house sales. Smaller properties and flats sell particularly well during this time, as people’s finances have recovered during the New Year and the improved weather tends to driver a higher level of consumer sentiment that empowers spending.

This may not be the best time to sell a family home, however, as the school holiday and the onset of a new term in September means that those with children are preoccupied in the summer. For others, the increased levels of activity can increase demand and the premium that they apply to their homes, so this could be a consideration for some vendors.

The Trough – Struggling Through the Autumn and Winter Months

Between November and February, there is a belief that buyers enter hibernation and refrain from any activity. This is largely due to the festive period, which costs a huge amount of money and forces all but the most serious buyers to shelve their plans until the New Year and the onset of the warmer weather.

Surprisingly, late September and October also showcase a decline in activity on the property market. While there remain ample opportunities to sell your home in the autumn months (with families particularly active during this period), sales volumes are still lower than during the summer months while the lack of competition can also cause prices to stagnate.

We have definitely seen this over the course of the last few weeks, so it’s important to keep in mind when scheduling a sale.

The Last Word

Ultimately, the best time to sell your home will usually depend on your personal circumstances, valuation and the precise type of property that you own.

Still, understanding the peaks and troughs within the property market can help you to operate more strategically, as you identify viable windows when the demand for your home is likely to increase.

This should increase the speed of any potential sale, while also enabling you to realise the optimal level of value that exists within your home.

How to Keep your Financial Resolutions on Track in the New Year

Finance
News

ABC Staff

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21 December 2017

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How to Keep your Financial Resolutions on Track in the New Year

Despite the popularity of making New Years’ Resolutions, it’s incredible to think that around 80% of those have failed by the time that February comes around.

This is particularly true in the case of financial resolutions, which are often undermined by the fall-out from the festive period and the fact that finances are often strained in the New Year. This is likely to be even more of an issue this time around, with inflation and the cost of living rising at a disproportionate rate to earnings.

In this post, we’ll look at how you can keep your financial resolutions on track in New Year and build successfully towards your objectives.

Set Realistic Goals

While you may have ambitious financial plans for the future, you cannot hope to suddenly build or accumulate wealth in 12 months. This is a gradual process that requires focus, dedication and vision, while it starts with the setting of realistic goals that can be easily achieved within a 12 month period.

So, look at what you want to achieve in the long-term, before considering the smaller steps that are required to accomplish your goals. You should then set New Years’ resolutions that relate to these smaller, more management chunks, while creating an estimated timescale for completing these.

Over time, you should reap the rewards of this and begin to see your resolutions accomplished more successfully.

Equip yourself with the Tools to Succeed

While we all like to start the New Year with a diary (in the hope that it will help us to suddenly become more organised), but if we’re going to adopt this approach then we should at least invest in the best and most comprehensive tools of this type.

Collins Debden sells a range of impressive economist’s diaries, for example, which are exceptionally stylish and also designed to make planning your finances easier. These diaries also include information and insight from the world’s leading economies and financial institutions, so you may be able to use this strategic advice to your advantage.

Similarly, take a look online and see if you can identify the money management and finance apps that best suit your needs. This should make it easier to track your money and adopt a more frugal lifestyle, which will be beneficial regardless of your overall objectives.

Be Prepared to Sacrifice

Achieving financial resolutions in the New Year is as much about mind-set as it is deed, so developing the right outlook is crucial if you’re to be successful.

You must be fully prepared to make changes to your lifestyle, for example, particularly when it comes to your regular spending habits. Similarly, you may also be required to make sacrifices, and this demands that you showcase willingness and no little mental strength throughout the whole year.

With the right mind-set and motivational triggers, you will find it far easier to achieve your New Years’ resolutions in 2018. In the case of those that relate to finance, this may well ensure that you begin to accumulate wealth and build towards a brighter financial future.

Why is Everyone Mum on Gold?

Elliot

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20 December 2017

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At the start of 2017, there was tremendous interest in gold. The gold price was one of the most watched economic instruments in the world. However, the cryptocurrency boom in Q3 and Q4 was a gut-punch to gold, and speculators have diverted their attention to this virtual asset en masse. Consider that the market capitalization of digital currencies is approaching $600 billion, and while small compared to the market cap in gold, it is no longer insignificant.

Where Is Gold Headed?

This begs the question: Where to next for the precious metal? By late December 2017, gold was hovering around $1,263 per ounce. For the year to date, gold has averaged approximately 10.48%, holding steady in a tight trading range between $1,150 and $1,300. At times, the gold price threatened to break out above the $1,300 per ounce level, but it has been unable to sustain momentum.

Gold demand is driven by volatility, uncertainty, and fear. It comes as no surprise that the gold price remains depressed, given the performance of US indices. Consider the following statistics heading into 2018:

The Russell 2000 has a year to date performance of 14.17%
The NYSE Composite PR has a year to date performance of 14.86%
The S&P Mid-Cap 400 has a year to date performance of 15.32%
The S&P 500 TR has a year to date performance of 21.86%
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has a year to date performance of 27.75%
The NASDAQ Composite Index has a year to date performance of 28.86%

Gold under Pressure as US Indices Boom

Clearly, gold won’t prosper when US indices are averaging 21% + for the year. Given that gold is a fear-based commodity – every time indices come under pressure, traders and investors flock to gold for safe haven. The relatively modest performance of gold over 1 year is reflective of the strength of the performance of US indices. It is notable that the average return (percentage annual change) on gold prices in USD terms since 2002 is 11.1%. In the UK, the return is 12.1% over the same period.

While gold is certainly not booming, it is an inflation-beating commodity. It is worth pointing out that gold is negatively correlated to the strength of the USD. Since gold is a dollar-denominated asset, every time the USD appreciates, demand for gold decreases. Consider that in 2017, the Fed has implemented multiple rate hikes. Every time the Fed FOMC decides to raise the federal funds rate by 25-basis points, this adds a little downward pressure on to gold demand.

Hold Your Gold

The reason why gold is inversely correlated with the USD is clear: foreign buyers of gold are required to spend more per unit of their currency every time the USD appreciates when they buy gold. Therefore, less gold will be demanded when the USD is bullish. The performance of the greenback in 2017 has been rather subdued. However, various monetary and fiscal policies are likely to boost the strength of the USD in 2018. These include ongoing moves by the Fed to raise interest rates (currently in the 1.25% – 1.50% range), and fiscal policy.

If the House and Senate agree on a corporate tax cuts proposal to reduce the rate from 35% to 21%, this will be beneficial to the USD. If the greenback appreciates, this will make gold relatively more expensive to foreign buyers. Gold demand will drop, and US indices will likely benefit from higher stock prices through tax reform. Overall, Olsson Capital gold trader, Edwin Miles Sr believes that gold is a hold commodity with limited upside potential, barring geopolitical uncertainty.

5 Offbeat Investments That Could Reap Rewards

Elliot

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20 December 2017

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5 Offbeat Investments That Could Reap Rewards

When people think of investments, most probably conjure up images of stocks and shares, or classic passion asset investments like wine or cars. However, value can also be found in a number of oddball investment routes. Here are some of the most notable.

Personalised number plates

One of the most unique forms of investments is personalised number plates. Popular with drivers wanting to add a little bit of personality to their cars, the sequences of letters and numbers can be arranged to display names, words, initials and short phrases.

Not only can they add a bit of je ne sais quoi to a vehicle, but some can turn out to be a seriously worthwhile investment with potentially lucrative returns. Because no two number personalised plates are the same, their value is likely to grow over time.

Common phrases and names are most popular, as well as initials, and some have been bought for astonishing figures. The number plate ‘F1’ was bought for a staggering £440,000 in 2008 by businessman Afzal Kahn, and the plate ‘1D’, was purchased for a whooping £352,411 in 2009.

More regular number plates can still make tens of thousands of pounds. Investing in a number plate with random initials could be a decent bet for a future windfall, although you would be relying on someone with those initials to come forward.

Comics

Another offbeat investment that could result in serious gains is comic book collecting. Worth little more than pennies in the 1930’s, rare editions can now be valued in the millions. In 2011, Nicolas Cage’s copy of Action Comics No. 1 that featured the first ever appearance of Superman sold for a record $2,161,000, eclipsing the previous record by almost double.

Whilst accruing this kind of money is unlikely, investing in comics can still pay significant dividends. Like personalised number plates, many comics will go up in price if popular, although their condition and rarity will also be major factors in what they are worth.

Original or vintage comics will always be in demand, and unlike other investments, you don’t have to rely on auctions as it is easy to sell your comics online on websites like eBay.

Whisky

Fine wine is the alcohol perhaps best associated with investment, but it could be worth taking a shot at investing in whisky. According to analysts, i nvestment in bottles of whisky is booming, with the value of collectable bottles of Scotch accruing a record £11.18 million in the first half of 2017, a 94% rise from the same period in 2016.

Japanese bottles are particularly in demand. Wine and spirits merchant BI revealed sales of Japanese whisky rose 232% between January and August 2017. However, like the fine wine market, the whisky market can also be volatile, meaning it pays to research thoroughly into the trends of what types are selling well.

Vintage guitars

One for music aficionados, another potentially profitable offbeat investment is vintage guitars. American Gibson, Rickenbacker and Fender guitars from the 1950s and 1960s are some of the most valuable types, with Martin, Gibson and Guild examples of coveted acoustic guitar brands.

Those played by famous musicians are even more profitable and can be sold to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Elvis’ 1969 custom Gibson Ebony Dove sold for £185,000 last year, and a Sunburst Fender Stratocaster played by Bob Dylan at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival sold for £669,000 in 2013.

You will need to have substantial music knowledge to know exactly what type of guitars to invest in, and most can take at least a decade to show significant growth in value.

Crowdfunding

In cities with thriving startup scenes, crowdfunding has become a go to choice for those treading investment waters for the first time. There are a number of online platforms such as Crowdcube that make investing in a startup an easy and highly accessible process.

Crowdfunding requires patiences as all of the profits will initially be ploughed straight back into growing the business. However, if the startup balloons or gets bought out by a larger corporation, you could multiply your investment many times over. Like most investments, such a venture is fraught with risks, especially as around 40% of start up businesses ultimately fail. It is therefore recommended that you invest carefully and don’t put all of your eggs into one basket.

Collateral management as a career

Elliot

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20 December 2017

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When young finance undergraduates are searching for career entries, collateral management isn’t one profession that immediately leaps out to them. The front office functions of investment banking, sales & trading and equity research have been far more heavily marketed as well as the buyside jobs in hedge funds, venture capital and private equity. However, given the increasing role of collateral management in the modern investment bank, there are more of these roles being offered to graduates and they are potentially a highly rewarding way to start a career. In the bank of 2017, capital growth and capital preservation are treated as equal priorities. Therefore, when it comes to making money versus saving money, banks are equally willing to adopt the “penny saved is a penny earned” approach. As collateral management is one of the key ways for banks to potentially save money, the rise in this type of job has been predicated by the astounding growth of the industry at large.

The role of collateral management is essentially to move different financial products between two counterparties trading with each other that covers the total exposure to the portfolio that is underlying. In simpler terms, if a bank lent a mortgage to a buyer, then the buyer is then responsible for paying back that mortgage with interest to the bank over a fixed time period. In the event of a buyer default or inability to pay the mortgage, the bank holds the right to seize the house and sell it at market price to cover their losses. The house in this scenario represents the collateral that the bank has received from the buyer. It is the same logic with securities. When buyers and sellers enter into a transaction, the seller posts some sort of collateral (normally cash) that the buyer can lay claim to if the seller fails to make the scheduled payments. When counterparties default on their obligations, the collateral is the protective insurance that insulates losses to some degree. If the collateral is marked to market and found to be short of the exposure amount, the bank will then issue a margin call which is essentially a call for more collateral to be posted by the buyer. In the days after the Lehman Brothers collapse, there were a lot of these margin calls as the value of securities dwindled at an alarming rate.

In today’s banking environment, collateral management services are more than just a back office role that move collateral between one place to another. Greater emphasis is now placed on the efficiency and optimization of collateral in order to use it in the most cost-efficient way. This means identifying opportunities where the posted collateral can e “recycled” and placed to earn the highest level of yield while the transaction is undergoing. This represents an essential aspect of a financial institution’s non-core operations and can be a significant component of non-operational income. In addition to that, the collateral management analyst can also get exposure to various types of products as most ISDA agreements have the flexibility to allow for multiple collateral products.

All in all, the collateral management career is one where a young analyst can gain exposure to a section of the bank that is only likely to grow in importance over the next few years if history is any indication. With a clear focus on optimizing collateral and improving valuation procedures and visibility, this is a white space opportunity for new players to come in and make it their own. The industry is still in progress, processes are still being refined and there is a large untapped arena that can be taken advantage of when it comes to measuring efficiency of valuation. With a sizeable market worldwide, collateral management may even be poised to take on a greater role within the banking core operational model – a move that would be in line with the current trend focusing on capital preservation and savings.

What are the mistakes in your trading career

Elliot

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20 December 2017

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What are the mistakes in your trading career

You should stand on your own if you want to succeed in trading. The trading success doesn’t come easily you should work hard to become a successful trader. If you are not making money in the market it is because you are not with the optimistic mindset. Of course, you may feel as we are offering negative thoughts of trading but we are not. We are trying to show the reality of the market. You should take the negative idea out of your mind and focus on the ways to improve your trading career. If you’re trading career is full of negative thoughts such as actions, egos, emotions and much more you will not be able to succeed. So rather than giving space to your negative ideas, you should focus on the positive ideas. How can you transform the negative ideas to positive ideas like the traders in the United Kingdom? If you have the positive ideas you will be able to break the barriers in order to achieve the success in trading. If you focus on these factors you will be able to understand the mistakes you are making in trading. Let us read the article.

Human beings are not designed to embrace financial loses. So when it comes to financial instrument trading, the novice traders make a lot of mistakes. But in order to see yourself in the line of successful trader you must learn something from your mistake. Assess your trading history to find the key weakness in your trading career.

Feeling of ego

Can ego affect your trading career? Certainly, the answer is yes. Let’s learn the things caused due to ego in trading. Ego is the main reason for the failure. According to statics, when we compare the trading success of men and women it is women who succeed in it because they are not too confident in themselves like men. Many types of research have proved this concept, and when it comes to financing it is women who are more aware of taking risks, it doesn’t mean that you should not take risks, you must take risks in trading but you should also make awareness to yourself. This does not mean that you will fail in trading it simply means you should have the courage to face the failures and also most importantly you should terminate the word ego in trading. Through practice, hard-work, plan, and also training yourself through demo trading account will enable you to become successful.

Feeling of excitement

Patience, it is a very important topic in trading. Is patience very important in Forex? Of course, it is, as traders it is very much essential to hold on with patience because, trading is where we face victory and defeat, as Forex traders you should know to overcome all barriers to achieve your goals. A common mistake we do is, we wait for a quick and a positive feedback from trading, but which is totally wrong. As traders, you should know that you will not only face victories. You will face odd scenarios very often so you should train yourself to overcome those. It is in your hand to hold onto patience and through that, you can achieve your goals in trading.

The feeling of denial

As humans, we have the thought that whatever we do it is as correct, because of this thought when you do something wrong you are unable to admit the mistake without knowing that this will effect in your trading too. Especially when you do a mistake it is much better to accept it rather than denying it. When you are a newbie to Forex it is really hard for you to accept the mistakes done by you but know that when you do not accept the mistake it will lead you to fail in trading. So, learn not to deny the mistakes.

5 simple technique to improve your trading performance

Finance

Elliot

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20 December 2017

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5 simple technique to improve your trading performance

Starting your trading career is very easy. All you need is some money and reputed broker to trade the market. But gaining the access to the online trading industry doesn’t mean that you will be making tons of money in every single day. The smart investors in the United Kingdom always suggest the new traders trade the market with the balanced trading system. But surprisingly the majority of the traders don’t have a very clear knowledge about the financial industry and thus they lose a big portion of their money in forex market. Unlike the novice traders, the experts are always trading the market based on their technical and fundamental data. They know very well that trading is all about managing the risk in the most efficient way. If you want to become successful in forex then you need to master the art of trading with an extreme level of precision. In this article, we will give you 5 advice which will help you to become a professional trader.

Learn the basics first

Without having a strong foundation in the financial market it’s nearly impossible to save your investment. You have to learn all the details about technical and fundamental analysis. Based on that market analysis result you should place your trade. Some traders often ignore the long term trend but it will increase their risk exposure. If you start trading the exotic pairs from the very beginning then chances are very high that most of the trades will be stopped out with wild swings.

Trade only the popular currency pairs

As a new trader, you shout always do your technical analysis in the forex market. The major pairs are the most traded currencies and its price movement is much more stable. For instance, if you assess the trading history of the successful traders then you will be surprised to see that every single one of them is trading the most traded currencies in the world. When you are dealing with the widely recognized financial asset you can easily access different types of market analysis data. It will help you to get a general overview of the market sentiment and keep your investment safe.

Learn price action trading

Price action trading is one of the most popular trading systems in the world. Almost every successful traders use the price reliable price action confirmation signals in the market to trade the key support and resistance level. Though this system is extremely reliable and profitable yet you should never use it in the lower time frame. However, if you still want to trade the lower time frame data then make sure that you learn about multiple time frame analysis to minimize your risk exposure in trading.

Fundamental analysis

When you are dealing with the Forex market, you need to understand the power of fundamental news release. In the eyes of the expert traders in the United Kingdom, high impact news data is often considered as the most powerful price driving catalyst. Even the long-term prevailing trend in the most traded currencies can easily get changed. So if you are not tuned with the latest market news then chances are very high that you will lose money.

Trade management skill

Managing your trades is the most difficult task in the financial market. Most traders fail to make money in the online trading industry due to lack of their trade management skills. It’s very normal that you will often have to face losing trades in the online market but this doesn’t mean that you will become emotion. You have to gain complete control over your emotions to make a profit on a regular basis. At times you should also take some break from your trading career since it will help you to restore your trading performance. Never take any unnecessary risk in this industry. Always try to reduce the risk exposure in every possible way since it will help you to make more money.

Restoration Projects: Coach House to Luxury Mansion

Property

ABC Staff

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20 December 2017

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Restoration Projects: Coach House to Luxury Mansion

Having started its life as a coach house, this 8,051 square foot mansion situated in the heart of Mayfair has been transformed by London developer K10 Group into a luxury 21st-century property. It perfectly combines period features with the best of contemporary design, with Peter Wetherell, the Chief Executive of the real-estate agency Wetherell, who is handling the sale, describing the property as ‘low-profile from the outside,’ but with ‘everything everyone wants now’ once inside.

It’s façade, which is in keeping with surrounding properties in upmarket Mayfair, provides a glimpse into the property’s history. After a stint as a coach house for the Capel family, the Earls of Essex, the property was purchased by wealthy industrialist Sir Thomas Stepney, in 1814. Fast forward another century, to 1929, and the former coach house was transformed into a brick house.

After a string of owners, the property which came to be known as ‘Culross Cottage’ fell into disrepair. The team at Argent Design were keen to restore the property to its former glory, combining its period features with the luxury synonymous with Mayfair. It is, at present, the only newly built town-house mansion for sale in Mayfair.

The property’s history was taken into account during the restoration process, with the brickwork façade, in addition to the composition of large windows and gable pediment, honouring the original Edwardian design. In order to ensure consistency with architect Ernst G. Cole’s original bijou-brick design, reclaimed bricks were sourced. It is this attention to detail and respect of the property’s history that makes it a real showstopper.

On entering the property, the most striking element is its glass elevator and staircase, fitted for maximum visual impact. Complete with bespoke balustrade, shadow gaps and inset wall lighting, this design element functions not only as a focal point on entry, but also ensures that natural light cascades from the skylight above, flooding through the property and giving it a truly contemporary feel. For your own luxury staircase, always contact an expert staircase manufacturer that will offer you the best result.

Set over six floors, including two at basement level, the fifteen-room house is inspired by international five-star suites and VIP venues and fitted with entirely bespoke furniture, making no compromises on high spec luxury features. From a state of the art pool, gym and sauna complex to a walk-in humidor and wine cellar, the property functions with equal effect as a space for family living and entertainment.

In addition, the ambassadorial house features two master bedrooms, three additional bedrooms, family rooms a lounge and snug.

The contemporary interiors take into account the latest in modern technology and strive to make day-to-day life as easy as possible. This is most noticeable in the contemporary smart kitchen designed by Smallbone of Devizes, where built-in technology scans cupboard content, automatically ordering goods that need to be replenished.

On account of a plot that is both wide and deep, 25 Culross Street provides an abundance of lateral living space, spacious rooms and a private walled garden which is generous in size, by Mayfair standards.

With property in Mayfair remaining consistently desirable property prices can be expected to range from anywhere between £1.5M and £5.25M for a 2 or 3-bedroom property, with £ per square foot ranging from £2,200 p.s.f. to £4,400 p.s.f. Culross House has entered the market at £35,000,000.

5 Potential Specializations for Your Consulting Business

Business

Elliot

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18 December 2017

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5 Potential Specializations for Your Consulting Business

There’s a common misconception out there that business consultants are all experts in finances and business strategy. But the fact of the matter is, there are dozens of different kinds of business consultants out there, and they all provide vital services to businesses around the globe. Each type of consultancy offers a different kind of specialization, and most of them aren’t even remotely related to business strategies or finances.

If you don’t believe it, just look at the learning platform Consulting.com. Created by consulting expert Sam Ovens, this site has turned thousands of people into business consultants, and most of them have very different specializations. In fact, the founder himself started his business career offering a very niche solution for property managers, without any specialized business degree. So if you think you have to have an MBA to be a business consultant, check out these 5 different kinds of consultancies that you could specialize in.

Technology Consultants

We’re in the age of technology, and every business out there needs technology-based solutions in order to succeed. Technology consultants offer a variety of services to businesses, from setting up the initial architecture of their technology systems, to solving specific problems related to the business’s software. You can deliver software-based workflow solutions, or help them to integrate their existing files into a paperless solution. If you have keen skills with technology, you can easily offer up your skills as a technology consultant—no business degree required.

PR Consultants

So much of a business’s success revolves around their image, especially in the digital age. With social media being the go-to source of information for many people, one negative story about a company can spread like wildfire and cause significant long-term impacts to the company’s profits. PR consultants essentially offer “clean up and maintenance” solutions for a business’s image. They help to construct a certain public perspective of a business by encouraging positive press and dealing with the negative stuff. You have to have some pretty powerful networking skills and a bit of a political mindset, but if you have those skills, you can be a business consultant too.

Social Media Consultants

A social media presence is vital to a company’s growth, because that’s where consumers are these days. But many business owners don’t know how to tackle the beast that is social media marketing. That’s where a business consultant comes in. With a specialization in social media marketing, this type of consultant can help a business build a social media presence and may even offer ongoing maintenance for those social media profiles. Of course, you have to have more to offer than just a rich history of Tweeting. But if you have proven skills in social media marketing, you can leverage those to start your own business consulting firm.

HR Consultants

Human resources consultants offer a wide range of services, from offering temporary staffing solutions to helping with mergers and acquisitions, offering training, overseeing organization leadership, and more. It does take a certain strategic mind to help with these sorts of solutions, but it’s a far cry from requiring a business degree. If you don’t have the budget for your own consultation then using HRIS software for your business can be a simple and cost effective alternative.

Marketing Consultants

While a marketing degree would likely be a prerequisite for this particular specialization, you don’t have to have a business or finance degree to go with it. With your specialized knowledge in marketing, targeting demographics, and branding, you could offer services to virtually any kind of business out there.

So don’t let the common perception that “business consultant = business expert” put you off from starting your own consultancy business. There is a demand for many different kinds of skills out there. So do some research, and see if you can turn your specialization into a consulting firm.

The Past, Present and Future of Currency Trading

Elliot

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13 December 2017

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The Past, Present and Future of Currency Trading

Currency trading has been around for a long time, but modern currency trading only really began in 1972 when the Bretton Woods Agreement was effectively ended by the then United States of America President, Richard Nixon – Bretton Woods in New Hampshire US was where the post WW2 leaders met to discuss and stabilise the global economy after the Gold Standard had been abandoned during WW1. Thirty years of foreign exchange restrictions caused by this post WW2 agreement meant that countries switched to ‘floating rate’ regimes rather than ‘fixed’ ones. Another reason for the change was the US Treasury did not have enough Gold to cover all the US dollars that the foreign central banks had in reserve. The FX trader was born!

So whilst countries had ‘traded’ currencies since Egyptian times (in various ways), FX as we know it today didn’t really begin until the early 1970’s.

Foreign Exchange (Forex) is now a completely global, decentralised (OTC) market for trading currencies. Forex is the largest traded commodity on the globe – followed by Credit. However, it is not a free-for-all. There are a number of historic rules which the new participant needs to understand. There are practices which have been in force since the early days and which the new investor needs to understand.

Market convention is to quote most exchange rates against the US dollar (USD). So the USD is the base currency and the other currency is the counter currency. The exception to this are the following; GBP (UK Sterling), AUD (Australian Dollar), NZD (New Zealand Dollar) and EUR (the Euro). In these cases the USD is quoted as the counter currency.
Currencies are traded in ‘pairs’ – USD/JPY, EUR/CAD etc. The most traded ‘pairs’ in 2016 were EUR/USD, USD/JPY, and GBP/USD.
The most important centre for Forex trading is the UK which, in 2013, represented 41% of trades worldwide – whereas the US came in at 19%; Singapore and Japan 6%; and Hong Kong 4%.
Currency markets operate continuously – 24 hours a day except weekends. They operate on very low margins.

For the inexperienced trader modern day Forex can be made simpler and more manageable with a whole host of tools. For example, a trader can put their trust in a (semi)-autonomous trading assistant that works with algorithms that try to predict market fluctuations. Or by using what is called ‘social trading’, an innovative approach that has been pioneered by trading platform eToro, where trading and social networking are combined. Say an investor wants to trade EUR to GBP they can copy and interact with more experienced traders on the platform and capitalize on the shared community knowledge. Even so, currency investors need to be aware what it is that can affect currency rates if they want to mitigate some of the risks that come with any kind of investment.

Interest Rates – The relative purchasing power parity – it is easy to switch to currency with high % rate of return but the Forex rate is hampered by other factors.

Balance of payments model for the underlying economy – An economy in serious financial stress will offer high rates of interest despite having a poor balance of payments which, in turn, will have an adverse effect in the Forex rate.

Politics – The economy of a state might be sound but the politics could leave markets concerned; hence the Forex markets will look at the currency unfavourably. Remember who sets the rates and where the trades are all done.

Speculation – Economist Milton Friedman has argued that speculators are only good for the market, as they act as a signifier for what is probably true. But they can have short term de-stabilising effects.

Auto-trading – This might have only represented 2% of trades in 2004, but by 2014 45% of trades were conducted automatically. Whatever you believe the fundamentals of a currency to hold, the ‘system’ will move it against you if the algorithms don’t agree with your view.

Risk Aversion – The US in 2009 was in serious crisis which caused ripples all around the globe – but despite this, the dollar rose against falling equity markets. Investors will always move to the dollar during global upheaval – even if the US is the reason for it!

So what should the Forex investor be looking towards? The past decades have seen huge changes in the sophistication of the Forex markets – the emergence of electronic trading and the ability of institutions and individuals to trade instantaneously with new financial instruments such as futures, options and swaps has enabled traders to perfectly time their exchanges and hedge against unpredictable fluctuations. But that does not mean that traders should become complacent, algorithms have been known to make costly mistakes in the past and tools will only get you so far. It is because of this that a good grasp of the fundamentals of Forex are going to be a big part of making any trader future proof.

ABC Money 2025 - 1st Edition