I used to work for a big trading institution. That was an eye-opener.

Private brokers simply care more about staff…and customers.

By Valon Sermaxhaj

This essay was originally published by Finance Magnates. Read it there

The biggest names in the trading industry don’t care about anyone but whales, and their one-size-fits-all approach puts off most traders. No wonder private brokers are picking up their disgruntled traders and poaching their talent. The small guys are running circles around them,? bringing better service, nimbler management, and cultural nuance to an industry that’s all about the customer experience.?

I was on the front lines

I spent the better part of my twenties on the phone with prospective clients for one of the largest institutions in our industry. Starting in 2016 I was talking to at least 30 people out of 80 to 100 dials a day, spending between 3 or 4 hours on the phone. My job was to screen applicants in the Asia-Pacific region – both retail and corporate – then onboard them once they were approved, with a comprehensive demo of our platform. By the time the pandemic came, I was leading a team of 5 in addition to managing triple the usual volume of account applications.??

It was very fast paced but I learned a lot. In some respects it’s like I’ve peered into the soul of the average APAC trader, way deeper than any focus group moderator ever will. And the number one emotion they felt was frustration.?

Here’s the dismal picture all those Joe average traders painted for me. Big-ticket brokers don’t really care about the small trader. They focus most of their effort on a minority of high-income individuals to which they’ll give special privileges and “premium” customer service, and the rest are underserved, that is when they’re not outright refused service. It’s all about optimizing efficiency, i.e., cutting costs at every opportunity at the expense of the average trader. I’ve seen many perfectly respectable prospects get rejected only because they didn’t earn enough income. This is unfair.??

Go where you’ll get some love

Traders recognize this issue and they’ve been fleeing to smaller, private brokers where they feel valued and adequately served. While the big institutions base all their decisions on one global, generic type of trader, private brokers see clear differences in trading culture between markets and between trader profiles, and are willing to tailor their offerings to meet these specific needs. They’re also willing to bite the bullet and compete aggressively on service fees and customer support.?

At the large publicly-owned brokers, every consequential decision must be approved by a board of directors whose duty of care is primarily toward the shareholders. They spend months and years going through their internal processes, rewriting policies and the like.?

You’re somebody

Meanwhile the private brokers are relatively smaller companies who care about their customers first and foremost. When they have twenty clients asking them for the same thing, they are much more inclined to respond positively, and quickly. Not only do they pick up the phone but they are much keener to listen and to adapt to new ideas.

At least this is the theory. In practice, many small brokers offer subpar service, when? they’re not disappearing overnight or outright scamming their traders that is. Always exercise due diligence when choosing a broker!?

But the honourable brokers who run above-board operations and compete by innovating to provide better service are rewarded with customers who stick with them. Which is good for us and good for you.?

At Titan FX, we’re laser-focused on delivering superior trading conditions to empower our traders, and over time we’ve built a reputation for being a broker that cares. This has allowed us to build a loyal customer base in flourishing Asian markets, and in turn to hire more team members who come from there, speak the language and understand local preferences.

Talent is leaving. Traders are getting the message.?

Hiring talent is actually getting easier for smaller brokers like us. Many experienced professionals are fleeing the biggest names in our industry to join more nimble operations. It’s no surprise: that’s where the action is and where opportunities abound.

I know the feeling – just one year ago I jumped ship myself, from a “tier 1”, publicly-listed, big-city institution to a much smaller broker in a tiny Pacific archipelago. I never looked back.?

While previously I had to email a million people to get a simple approval from my headquarters half a world away, I can now bounce ideas off my close teammates and talk to managers about them that day. I am encouraged to get involved in many aspects of the business far beyond my job definition. I feel supported by my managers. It’s rewarding and fulfilling.

While I am grateful to my previous employers for the learning opportunities they gave me, I must confess that if I was a young graduate looking to start a career in trading today, I would skip the big corporations and apply to a private broker right away. This is where the future of trading is, and I think I’m not alone in coming to this conclusion.