One to One at iFXEXPO: Gold-i’s Visual Edge a year on, China on the agenda

A year has passed since the launch of data analytics tool Visual Edge by innovative FX brokerage technology development company Gold-i, and as the need for brokers to streamline their operating costs and manage their risk and opportunities is ever more critical, FinanceFeeds CEO Andrew Saks-McLeod met today with Gold-i senior executives Tom Higgins and Chris Rowe in order to take a look at the future of Visual Edge and its move into new markets.

Mr. Rowe is Business Development Manager at Gold-i, having spent two years at the company, immersing himself in the company’s technological effort, as well as being actively involved in Gold-i’s charity effort, the sponsorship of Great Strides 65.

At the iFXEXPO Asia 2016 hosted by ConversionPros and Finance Magnates, Mr. Rowe explained “I got involved in Great Strides 65 through a friend whose daughter was affected, so I help out. It is a very good event and now that Ordnance Survey is digital, we have Ordnance Survey maps with Gold-i branding. You can actually specify where a center point is, and then order custom maps with your chosen spot as a center point. With Great Strides 65, there are 10 points to go through, and the branded maps are a nice use of cartography technology.”

Managing a B book is easy? Not always!

With regard to the progress that Visual Edge has made, Mr. Rowe explained “It has taken a while to get accepted in the marketplace, probably because it is quite a revolutionary product.”

“This month, however, a rapid upturn in demand has been noticeable and we have had many more orders come through, largely because I think there are some more interesting drivers for the marketplace” said Mr. Rowe.

“One of the most interesting aspects is that after the Swiss National Bank, people cannot manage their own b books.

Mr. Higgins, CEO and Founder of Gold-i enthused that “This year, the need to be able to analyze data has increased and Visual Edge is reducing the time it takes for brokers to access important parameters in order to look ahead and base their business decisions.”

“Visual Edge accesses historical MetaTrader 4 data ad infinitum and can use the past performance and trading behavior to assess whether certain decisions made by brokerages could have made the trading more profitable for the brokerage, for example by assisting risk management methods by providing a track record that can steer brokers in the right direction going forward, as well as how to operate in order to retain customers and generate higher volumes” explained Mr. Rowe.

Following on from this, Mr. Rowe recalled that one particular brokerage that he had spoken to in London recently had enquired as to the cost of operating Visual Edge, and had said that he could make research himself and acquire the same results.

This was countered by a colleague pointing out that it may take two to three days to analyze a specific scenario, plus incur the costs of an analyst to carry out the task, when Visual Edge can do it instantaneously.

“Implying that a broker has difficulty in operating its own B-book is something of a taboo subject” said Mr. Rowe. “Nobody likes to approach this subject, however with the right technology, dealing desks can be assisted to stay within the parameters of profitability.

“The Visual Edge is really the perfect tool for hybrid brokerages, and in terms of opening up a market for the product here in Asia, we think it is a perfect fit!” concurred Mr. Higgins.

“We are a very British company, and have a British, innovative ethos and are very keen to emphasize that, however being intrinsically British and being able to accommodate the needs and operational specifics of companies in China or Hong Kong is entirely feasible” – Chris Rowe, Business Development Manager, Gold-i

Mr. Higgins concluded “We haven’t yet made a full move toward entering the Chinese market, but it is very much on our agenda. We have an office in Shanghai, and are most certain that our product will be very useful to Chinese brokerages.”

“Multi-language support is absolutely essential, and we are implementing that, and will look forward to being able to provide analytics to brokers in this exciting region as we progress down that route.”

Featured photograph: Tom Higgins and Chris Rowe at the iFXEXPO in Hong Kong. Copyright Andrew Saks-McLeod