Panikos Kaiserlidis is the CEO of Mount Nico Corp LTD, which operates and owns eXcentral – a brand offering a three-step approach to trading. eXcentral’s goal is to train the traders of tomorrow, established on the core belief that trading should be exciting, but also understood and calculated.
Panikos Kaiserlidis has previously worked as a Licensed Stockbroker, Head of Investment Advice, Portfolio Manager and CEO, and is also accredited with a CySEC Advanced Level License, and a Bachelor Degree in Economics from the University of Nottingham, England.
He joins LeapRate today to discuss key traders’ demands in 2019, upcoming trends, education, Brexit and more.
LR: Compared to 2018, how successful was 2019 for eXcentral– what has changed, what would you like to leave behind?
Panikos: eXcentral is a relatively new brand, that has only been in the markets since the last quarter of 2019. Considering its evolution so far, all we can say for the time being is that we are quite positive about what the future reserves for the brand and its employees.
LR: What were the key traders’ demands in 2019?
Panikos: As traders become more educated they demand more from the Company and expect a higher level of customer service and trading experience. They are increasingly looking to obtain better education on the financial trading markets, while at the same time seek to trade with improved trading conditions. At eXcentral we are striving to provide our traders with the highest level of education, by conducting 2 weekly webinars, based on different aspects of the market.
Our training efforts do not take the traditional route, providing educational material based on information easily accessible to traders without the assistance of the broker. Instead, while still providing this important information we are also offering vital information and warnings to ensure they are trading with their desired and controlled level of risk, while investing responsibly.
We consider it vital to educate traders in a transparent manner, by making information not easily found on the internet, accessible.
Whereas when it comes to Trading Conditions, we have noticed traders are calling for the best available execution, liquidity and cheapest possible access to tradable instruments. As a broker we are trying to constantly improve the services and trading conditions while also considering best practices in terms of growth and innovation.
LR: How important education is in the industry and where does it stand in your company?
Panikos: Given that regulators are tightening the legislation, making way for only knowledgeable traders to enter the industry, we take it into our hands to educate and train our traders, while still strictly following regulations. Although many would see this as a risk for their business, we believe it only helps in clearly differentiating the actual target audience, from the bulk, in addition from being our vote of confidence in the traders that in the end decide to join us.
In addition to the traditional ways of educating them, and given that certain traders are finding specific parts of trading difficult and require education aimed directly at their needs, we try to come to their aid by arranging one-on-one sessions with eXcentral’s Market Analyst, Michalis Efthymiou. He has close to a decade of experience in the financial trading markets, having worked both under the UK’s FCA and CySEC.
LR: According to you, what has changed for the retail trading industry in 2019, and what to expect in 2020?
Panikos: We witnessed the introduction of further regulation in 2018 and 2019 throughout the industry. Some of the most significant restrictions were targeting the leverage for retail traders, as well as on marketing and the information being presented to traders.
Another significant change that might impact the markets for the ongoing year, we expect to be stricter Cryptocurrency regulations, and an overall greater attention placed on these assets. In addition, we expect traders to continue their pursuit of fair and transparent offers, as well for high-risk assets.
As a company, we are foreseeing the increase in regulation for the protection of clients and in order for them to progress. We plan to continue working alongside European and local authorities to ensure market standards are kept to the highest level.
LR: What upcoming trends do you see emerging and making an impact on the industry in the next few years?
Panikos: Over the past seven years we have seen most economies, West and East European, performing considerably well compared to the banking crisis that started in 2007, and continued until 2014. We have seen an increasing strong US Dollar, and Pound as well as predictions for a strong Euro.
However, over the last 6 months we are increasingly hearing from the heads of global central banks indications of increased risk for economic growth. These include the Federal Reserves, BOC, BOE and most recently from the European Central Bank. Most likely this is going to have a major effect on the appetite and nature of the market.
LR: How will Brexit affect the retail trading industry?
Panikos: From the regulations point of view it probably won’t, given that the UK is still a member of the G20 and equivalent to the EU, therefore the legislation overlooking the financial market will remain the same.
In terms of currency pairs and tradable assets, the most affected currencies are likely to be the GBP, EUR and even possibly the USD. Brexit likely provided uncertainty with regards to the future relation between Britain and the rest of the globe, as well as for the GBP and Euro.
The pricing for currencies is massively based on supply and demand,which is why the uncertainty might steer investors away from buying the currency, consequently affecting the demand. This could potentially depreciate the value of the GBP and EUR. Traders might even steer their capital towards the USD and other more stable assets.
LR: What is the biggest opportunity you see for SMEs in 2020 and what is one tip that you have for businesses to pursue it?
Panikos: To start with: set clear goals and make sure to pursue them in an effective and measurable manner.
Clearly SMEs also have many other opportunities, especially with the new emerging-technologies and Artificial Intelligence, that seem to be gaining more popularity with companies. But with all the automation and technologization of businesses, I think there is one thing that owners – no matter if we’re talking about small, medium, or even large enterprises – should always keep in mind, and that is the human factor. Because this is the only thing that can truly connect your brand with your audience, and let’s not forget that at the end of the day it is the need for interaction that brings us together.
You see, back when I started I had no way of knowing what the future held for me, but I managed to successfully combine my passion for economy and finance, with the wisdom and precision instilled in me by the very institutions that trained me. And, at the very forefront of these institutions will always be the great minds that have both, the passion and wisdom to train the leaders of tomorrow. So no matter what, don’t forget to always invest in your most valuable asset – the people that help build your empire.
LR: What role will exchanges play in the evolution of the FX market?
Panikos: If you are referring to various other forms of shorter-term futures, then we don’t consider them to be a threat. As a company, we have established ourselves in the industry, gaining many devoted traders, a proof of which are the increasing numbers of great reviews we continue to receive.
LR: What is your opinion on the current market situation in the crypto industry? Are you still active in this area despite significant slowdown?
Panikos: eXcentral is active purely in the CFD trading market, offering cryptocurrencies only as CFDs – therefore the Company offers regulated instruments only – where traders can speculate on the price volatility. From what we can see to date and what analysts are advising, we may be looking at a more stable year compared to 2019 and most definitely compared to 2018.
There are talks from plenty of key figureheads urging further industry regulations. With regards to how these will affect cryptocurrencies’ pricing we will have to wait and see, as there is a high probability for these to provide confidence towards corporate investments and at the same time increase the demand. On the other hand, regulation may deprive the global currency from current and past advantages.
LR: Any marketing strategies tips for 2020?
Panikos: As I was saying before, the most important factor for a company, remain the humans that help build and make it a well-established brand in the industry, but this time, from the other side of the barricades – the target audience.
In an attempt to better understand their needs and what drives them to choose our company and not that of our competitors, we’ll try to position ourselves ahead of the curve by closely monitoring upcoming SEO changes on both – search engines and social media channels.
LR: Year-ahead predictions for the company?
Panikos: To make a quantifiable forecast, I would be tempted to say that the company will likely more-than-double the number of assets available for trading. If we are to take on the new wave of technology dictating the way the public interacts with brands, it would be safe to assume that we’re going to see a great increase in the brand-audience connection. Along with a better understanding of their needs, this will allow us to better address their demand, be it from the point of view of the assets offered, trading tools, platform navigability or other.