Sovereign International CEO Update - October 2024

I think its safe to say October was the best all round month we have ever seen from the sales team - over ￡71million worth of annual FX flows in new client registrations in just 4 weeks, all low to medium risk vanilla business! We may have had months with slightly higher combined total FX flow predictions from registrations, but never so many converting to open accounts and first trades, great work all.

Some special mentions are in order! Firstly, congratulations to our October Employee Of The Month, and winner of the month’s ￡500 bonus - Mia Pateman ! On top of the 6 large corporate registrations, 4 open accounts and 2 first trades, her work ethic was fantastic - well deserved. Another special mention goes to James Bulkan for 7 first trades in October alone, after 6 first trades in September alone - absolutely outstanding! Given the size of the accounts you onboard, the consistency is even more impressive, and all whilst performing your duties as Head of Sales! Last but not least, congratulations to Courtney Carpenter for passing her probation early, and to Josh Spearpoint for his 6 solid corporate registrations and 4 open accounts, consistent as ever. It’s no coincidence that all 4 of you qualified for last Monday's Thorpe Park Fright Night competition - what a fun day we had with some of the team.

The UK Government's budget last week was a bit of a non event in the FX markets, given the fact the key measures were already expected and thus already factored in to market expectations. The budget's increased spending and borrowing have raised concerns about inflationary pressures, meaning the Bank of England may keep interest rates higher for longer which will in turn attract foreign investment. When you combine this with growth expectations, Sterling strength should continue (so long as higher taxes don't drive too much business away!).

On the contrary, tomorrow brings the US Election; recent polls indicate a near tie between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, meaning we could see heightened market volatility this week. A Trump victory is expected to significantly strengthen the dollar given his protectionist measures and lower corporate taxes attracting overseas investment, whereas a Harris victory is expected to weaken the dollar given her multilateral approach to trade. We have already seen a 6-cent drop in GBP/USD over the past few weeks and the rate is now trading as its lowest level since August this year, meaning clients repatriating USD revenues will receive an extra ￡3,400 per $100,000 they sell.

Bloomberg forecasts to follow in a separate e-mail - let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything I can do to help in any way! Have a great day ??

Kind Regards,

Sean Galvin

CEO

Sovereign International (UK) Ltd