An Interview with LatitudeFX

What is your name and position?
Mark Olley -CEO of LatitudeFX

What is your professional background?
I have had over 16 years experience in global financial markets. During this time, I have held senior positions at prestigious Australasian companies such as Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and Fay Richwhite. One of my more recent roles was as a Director and Head of Treasury for Citigroup New Zealand. This experience in financial markets has involved trading a number of Interest rate and foreign exchange products as well as managing sales teams to provide financial markets advice to the Institutional and corporate market.

Who are your targeted audience?
We are currently serving the New Zealand market. We have aggressive timelines to expand and offer the product and platform to the geographical jurisdictions in which we operate.

Is your main focus of your business online or offline?
All margin transactions are web based initiated by the client.  The Deliverable product (in launch phase) is also online based.  The company however has a very hands on culture when it comes to education, research and personal contact. We offer personalized services such as free seminars, one-on-one guidance, 24 hour customer service as well as access to our highly trained and experienced staff. Therefore you could also say that a lot of our business operations are carried out offline as well.

Why should a trader choose Latitude over another broker?
Regulation - We have been the front runners in setting the highest process and regulatory standards.  The company is completing the process to become an Authorised Futures Dealer regulated under the NZ Securities Commission. The company will also be ASIC regulated in dealing with the Australian client base. Both applications are expected to be confirmed by September 08

Partners/Shareholders - Business relations with reputed leading firms in the Asia Pacific region.

Staff – Some of our employees are arguably the most experienced the New Zealand market has to offer. Some with in excess of 15-20 years professional trading experience over a number of products and having held senior positions in several banks over the years.

Price consistency & Platform – The Platform provides amongst the closest spreads in the NZ industry. 3 pips for NZD & 2 pips for AUD. Also, we do not have a minimum lot size amount and clients can trade any amount of currency they like.

With Clients, not against! : Lastly, we have a unique business model and unlike other fx platform providers, we do not hold positions against our client’s positions. Thus, client satisfaction is always our main goal and we strive hard to build a strong relationship with our customers.

What advice do you have for someone who is just starting to trade the forex market?
Make sure you use a demo account first and get a good understanding of the trading platform. Thus, it is important to choose a clean & simple platform which is also comprehensive and useful. Further, you should know the basics of both technical and fundamental analysis and get access to various tools available out there. It is critical to learn how to manage your trading capital .Always use take profit and stop loss orders in your initial trades. Use the experience the company has to offer at any stage 24/6

How different is the forex market today from what it was 2 years ago?
The retail market has seen massive advances in volume as this form of trading becomes widely accepted. Liquidity and speed is always improving.  As platform functionality becomes generic amongst providers, the pedigree of the company in terms of experience, regulation to protect client funds making the integrity of pricing and fills paramount.

Do you also offer Fund management services?
No.  We stick to the basics of providing the best tools and information for the client base to trade the markets themselves.

Who are the main competitors of LatitudeFX in the on-line Forex market?
There are various providers offering what we believe is a “churn and burn client model”. We want longevity to our client trading and low attrition rates. As the LatitudeFX brand becomes more familiar in the markets and we continue to focus on education and good , honest service our client base is becoming easier to attract.

What do you think about Forex scam problem in the on-line Forex brokers market?
It’s very simple. If you don’t provide good service, honest pricing and a genuine desire for clients to earn money your brand will suffer.

Where do you see LatitudeFX 2 years from now?
Providing a multitude of products, FX, Equity and commodities to both the online retail and commercial clients, within several jurisdictions.

Thank you very much for your time Mark.