It?s amazing the kind of inspiration you can acquire from a simple chat in the sun with a few friends. Around the time the global financial crisis hit, Forex trader Andrew Barnett was having a couple of beers in Sydney one afternoon, and discussing associates? losses. ?I was trading privately, but I knew people who weren?t,? he says. ?A lot of the big players ? Barclays, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, were letting their employees go, people who?d been in the business for decades. I thought: let?s hire these people privately and trade our money that way. The financial crisis has hit ? let?s see if we can?t cater a successful turnaround.?
The rest of the story is an interesting lesson in entrepreneurial leadership ? Barnett found a headhunting firm in the city and the initial traders who came on board loved the sound of the business, where traders could work independently, but also contribute to the training of others. ?Some of them had traded in the exact same market for years,? he says. ?It was a great opportunity for us to work to the same systems, but in an entirely different way. Many people were open to a new environment ? especially those who hadn?t particularly warmed to corporate banking structures during their careers.?
Barnett initially co-founded LTG GoldRock as a small boutique, but the company has become a much larger entity. He wanted to be able to provide access to understanding how currency trading works, and generate the opportunity for people to become traders in their own right. To date, Barnett and his professional team have trained thousands of individuals and provided the skills and knowledge for them to trade right at the forefront of one of the biggest financial markets in the world.
?It?s a recession-proof business,? he stresses. ?As a currency trader, you can make money, regardless of the situation with the markets ? it?s simply about using the situation to your advantage, and funnelling the information of the trade currency. We are unique in our transparency; we are not a broker company, but we deliver know-how and risk management awareness, as well as catering for all levels of wealth.?
Veteran staff
Barnett says the traders who work for him are the ones who have a lot of experience in the field, but have perhaps wanted a change of pace in their careers. ?I?ve coaxed them out of retirement, or they are the ones who never really wanted to stop working ? the more mature traders who want to keep themselves busy and motivated,? he said. ?It gives them the opportunity to work with people they might not ordinarily have had the chance to interact with.?
Learning to be a trader with LTG GoldRock is quite a systematic and structured process: you learn, you become a client, and then you commit to making money in the market. Every Monday morning, Barnett leads a live web seminar session to whet the appetite for trading, and explains how the company determines its strategies for the day?s activities. He stresses that even if you have next to no currency trading experience, you will be able to understand what he is talking about. ?It?s all about making a person relate to the material,? he said. ?Questions must always be asked and answered, and we then have the opportunity to get to know a person before they become a client.?
A live online learning centre that operates 18 hours a day is made available, where trader teams take turns in shifts to comment on global currency trading activities. Members are also able to log in and watch live trading. ?We have around 150 traders learning at any one time in the trading room, all of whom are learning expert knowledge of technical risk analysis from our Professional Trading Team? he says. ?Once someone has this grounding in currency trading, should they wish, they can open a trading account ? a lifetime membership to a high-end consultancy.?
Once a client becomes a member, the real fun begins. It?s possible to start up an account with as little as ?250 and trade with currency as low as 10p, and this very small barrier for entry enables the very inexperienced to start off slowly, but trade with real money nonetheless. ?In other markets, you must have a trading account backed with many thousands of dollars and this isn?t always ideal, and ultimately lowers the market playing field for those who don?t have that kind of money,? says Barnett. ?Money drives emotion and this makes trading challenging, but the very small barrier for entry with currency trading removes this emotion, and we don?t paper trade. Instead, we have clients trading real money from day one, in a controlled and experienced way, and this doesn?t happen with other markets.?
Return on investment depends on how often a client actively participates in the markets, but the company encourages clients to send in live trading statements and a trader of the month is determined by these rates. Barnett stresses he?s never keen to see a one-off. ?It?s not what the company is about,? he says. ?We always strive for consistent success in the training programmes. We see people changing careers to become full-time traders due to their appetites for the markets, and their ongoing achievements are always highly encouraging.?
Different trading approaches
The personal touch is definitely very important to the company, and Barnett makes it a priority to understand and identify with his clients.
?Everyone has different lifestyles and contrasting levels of finance, and it?s important our clients are appreciated as individuals with personal training needs. It?s a game of attrition ? it could take anything from 12 months to two years or more to become a significant and successful trader ? but the ability to generate a profit is important.?
As he gets to know a client and their needs, Barnett and his team are able to give advice on a trading approach that will benefit each individual. ?Currency trading is a 24-hour process, and there is no set time in the day a person needs to trade,? he says. ?We have to work out where they can fit in at least 20 or 30 minutes of trading during their normal working day, and then recommend what to look out for during that time. It?s really important for us to ensure clients are getting the best information about how to manage their money well.?
The training advisors keep a close eye on newsfeeds coming in from Reuters, Bloomberg and CNBC, and then relay that information back to Barnett. Every client receives news via emails or online updates, one at 9am (Sydney time) and the other at 4pm. ?That information flow is critical for our clients, as it keeps the data coming through, and lets them know what?s happening across the world while they?ve been asleep, or while they?ve been doing other things,? says Barnett. ?The best way to be a real trading room is to act like one. The reports are delivered akin to the way in which updates are distributed in offices like Canary Wharf. Then, if clients have any questions, they can get in touch with us. ?
Assessing risk
The Forex market is currently generating around $4trn a day, and continues totrade outside any central governing body, and on an unregulated exchange. While it remains a speculative market, Barnett believes it?s nowhere near as risky as people think.
?I?ve traded in everything, and currency trading is the least volatile market I?ve come across,? he says. ?I firmly believe it?s the best to trade in, hands down, as you can manage your risk to one percent, and it?s such an openly transparent, systematic process.?
Barnett is quick to denounce his critics who say the spirit of trading is faceless ? and insists LTG GoldRock certainly is not. ?We have between 400 and 500 clients from all walks of life, but all are like-minded individuals, with a passion for currency trading and they get to interact with each other on a daily basis,? he says. ?They can call us; throw as many questions as they like in our direction on a one-to-one basis ? it?s always important we make them feel they?re never left alone.?
Barnett knows his company is not na?ve enough to think that every client who comes aboard is going to be wildly successful, but he stresses the importance of each individual putting in what they expect to get out of currency trading. ?This business is no different to any other. You lose money and you make money. We tell clients to invest wisely and follow a balanced approach. We instil a ?get rich slowly? ethos, and if you take the time to learn from a professional team of traders then the results will follow.?
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