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Advice and mentoring in the traded markets

About Me
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About Me



About Me

I left Christ Church, Oxford in 1983 with a BA (Hons) in Modern History. In 1984 I joined Nomura International’s Eurobond desk as a new issues trader; I was given the ECU (predecessor to the Euro) to trade, as it was new and unknown. By 1990 I was running KBC’s ECU Eurobond trading book. I left them in 1991 to start a company importing the Hindustan Ambassador car from Kolkata, India. I ran this with a friend from Oxford until 1998, during which time we also imported tuk-tuks from Kerala and the Tatra sports saloon from the Czech Republic. I then joined GHCo, a Chicago-based futures proprietary trading company. By the time I left in 2004 I was running their London trading and overseeing the hiring and training of graduate traders straight from university. From 2006 to 2010 I was head of UK power and carbon trading at E.On Energy trading SE in Coventry and Dusseldorf. On my return to London I set up Owen-Lloyd Futures to trade crude oil, carbon and natural gas futures, as well as to offer support and mentoring services to other traders.



Consultancy

I have many years’ experience of trading and of running trading desks. I have hired, trained and overseen the development of many traders, and have a track record of growing traders’ confidence and their profitability. I have set up and managed trading desks and trading companies. I can offer advice on choice of clearer, DMA trading system, products, exchanges and compensation structures. I have traded a wide range of products - bonds, stocks, index and commodity futures. At E.On I was responsible for delivering the value embedded in their generation portfolio, hedging it five years forward. I can advise on hedging strategies, risk management systems and capital allocation, as well as help you develop your traders and increase their profitability. I moved E.On’s UK power trading operation from the UK to Germany in 2008, and ran it in Dusseldorf, giving me sound knowledge of change management, staff retention and risk management during a period of flux in a company - we moved the business the week that Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.

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Training and Mentoring


Experienced traders:

Trading is for the most part a lonely and hard battle with yourself and with the markets. It can be very easy to lose perspective, to ignore the mistakes you are repeating, to overlook the opportunities which are before you. My approach to mentoring traders is to meet them regularly, talk about their trading and strategies, find out how they feel about what they are doing, and look at the patterns of their p&l - consistency, regularity of losing days, relationship between losing days and winning days. My aim is to help traders understand and acknowledge their mistakes, to emphasise and highlight their strengths. Much of a trader’s success comes from their ability to manage themselves in the chaos and volatility of the markets. A trader’s task is to apply to the market a measure of risk that he or she is able to understand and manage, to make money from that application and to avoid being overcome by volatility and the momentum of the market. I can help the trader to do that better, more often and with more confidence. I do not promise to make a trader more profitable - instead the best trader he or she can be.



New traders:

I was hired straight onto Nomura’s bond trading desk, given a brief introduction to the Eurobond market, placed in front of a dealer board and Reuters screen and told to get on with it. No better way to learn how to trade - you just have to get on and do it, learning quickly from your mistakes. I was lucky that Nomura were growing their trading desk when I applied to them. The banks’ reduction in proprietary trading activity since 2008, under pressure from their regulators, has reduced opportunities for trader, both new and experienced. Yet volumes on futures exchanges and stock markets are at or near their highs, so the business of trading is flourishing and liquidity is good. The application of technology to the futures markets and the closure of trading pits (except for the LME in London) means it is cheap and simple to trade futures. Find a clearer, deposit funds, download trading software…….There is a large number of companies offering trading internships, trading houses and hedge funds have stepped into the space left by banks, and there are still traders in the dealing rooms of the City and Canary Wharf. I will teach you the basics and the advanced techniques of trading. I will educate you to the point where you can apply for trading positions or start trading for yourself. My courses cover markets, trading techniques, money management and technical analysis. They are all tailored to the client's individual requirements.



Interview Preparation:

I have hired a large number of traders, and been to a few interviews myself, so I have significant experience of the hiring process. I can ensure that you the candidate arrive at your interview in the best possible state of readiness. I offer interview preparation courses which will give you an introductory tour of the City, its institutions, its practices and its markets. From Lloyd’s to FX, to bonds, to the LME, I will give you a through grounding and answer all the questions that you have. An interviewer is looking for you to have a good grasp of the industry to which you are applying, and I will make sure that you are able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding - enabling you to appear well prepared and be confident to ask informed questions about the organisation and segment you are hoping to join. There is nothing more dispiriting for an interviewer than a candidate before them who knows very little about the job they are asking for. Whether you are applying for an internship or for a graduate trainee position, I can ensure that you have the best possible chance of doing well in the interview. This would normally require a 1.5 hour session, but more can be arranged if necessary, particularly as the interview process develops. Please use the form below to make contact with me.

Latest Blog

Read the latest from my blog:

22/08/2018Is Tesla Inc Heading for a Car Crash?

  By Joshua Portway, Trading Intern, Owen-Lloyd Futures. A share price down nearly $80 in less than two weeks. A business model with immense manufacturing costs and low sales, dependant for growth upon improved battery technology that hasn’t yet materialised....

23/11/2017Brexit Etc

  Finest of Margins   It is striking how apparently minor, irrelevant events can have a disproportionate effect and influence on all of our lives. The man in the picture above Boris is Anthony Weiner, until 2011 Congressman for the...

05/07/2017HMS Jupiter and RBS

  In June 1984 HMS Jupiter, a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy, visited the pool of London. Departing the berth alongside HMS Belfast, Jupiter’s captain, Commander Colin Hamilton decided to ignore the advice of the pilot and declined the offer...

15/05/2017Culture or Big Stick?

Climb the steps from Bank tube station beneath the portico of the Royal Exchange, and your eyes are drawn left to the imposing bulk of the Bank of England. Its impenetrable curtain walls, important entrance and pink-coated doorman are designed...

29/03/2017It may well be fake news.

The ranting about “fake” news, the banning of journalists from press conferences, the conspiracy accusations. They all seem to be examples of President Trump’s erratic behaviour, like his incontinent and crazy tweeting day and night. We laugh at him. But...

20/03/2017Spreadbetting with the weapon of knowledge

Spreadbetting companies are highly profitable. IG Group’s website hails 2016 as “another record year for IG”, boasting record pre-tax profit of £208m on revenue of £456m. Their accumulated pre-tax profits since 2011 are £948 million. They take no positions themselves...

20/03/2017What do regulators DO?

  What do regulators DO? I have just read a book by Harry Markopolos (No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller, John Wiley 2010) which reads like fiction and astonishes with every turned page. Harry (pictured above right) was...