Notes from TradeTech FX USA
Usually, I don't particularly look forward to long haul flights, being cooped up in a seat for hours on end, "enjoying" plane food etc. However, this time was different, earlier this month, I was excited about going on a long flight to the USA. After all, it's only been a few months since pandemic travel restrictions were lifted to the USA. (And yes, for regular readers of my blog, I did have some burgers during my visit!)
I was travelling to the USA, to speak at the TradeTech FX USA conference, which was being held in person for the first time since 2020, that brings together the sell side, buy side and vendors. It was the first time I was meeting many of my FX colleagues in person since 2020. A lot of course has happened since then and in this article, I'm going to write about a few of my takeaways from the event. Below I summarise a few of the discussion points at the event. Given some of the discussions were under Chatham House rules, I won't directly quote the participants.
Trends shaping FX trading
Given the pandemic, it's perhaps not surprising the topic of hybrid working came up for trading desks. Working from home tends to mean less screen real estate and also generally fewer real life interactions with counterparties. In previous years, crypto was somewhat niche at the event. The use of analytics to trade, in particular TCA, including pre-trade came up in conversation...