dif broker: best online broker, western europe, 2010
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Dif Broker, Best Online Broker, Western Europe, 2010TRANSCRIPT
Food for thought
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world finance
Published by World News MediaMarch-April 2010 | www.worldfinance.com
Robert Shiller Nouriel Roubini David Orrell Niall Ferguson Joseph Nye Selwyn Parker
UK £4.95
CAN $14.75
FRANCE €6.50
GERMANY €15.00
SPAIN €7.00
USA $7.99
World Finance Exchanges & BrokersAwards 2010
The last year was one of the most difficult ever for the exchangesand brokerage industry, as lenders did their best to cope with a
The World Finance editorial team in their research for this listexamined the performance, client list and exchange activity of eachplatform by geographical region. Inclusion in this list is especiallynoteworthy given the exchange climate of 08-09. Congratulationsto the winners.
Western Europe Winners
Stock Exchange of the Year: LSE (UK)
Online Broker of the Year: DIF Broker (Portugal)
Advisory Brokerage of the Year: Central Markets (UK)
Discretionary Brokerage of the Year: Charles Stanley (UK)
Corporate Broker of the Year:Investment Bank of Greece(Greece)
Market Maker of the Year: Barclays Capital (UK)
Small Cap Broker of the Year: Singer Capital Markets (UK)
Products & Service Provider of the Year: Neonet AB (Sweden)
Eastern Europe Winners
Stock Exchange of the Year:Zagreb Stock Exchange(Croatia)
Online Broker of the Year: X-Trade Brokers (Poland)
Advisory Brokerage of the Year: KBC Securities N.V. (Poland)
Discretionary Brokerage of the Year:Erste Securities Polska S.A.(Poland)
Corporate Broker of the Year: BZ WBK Brokerage (Poland)
Market Maker of the Year:CAPITAL PARTNERS, a.s.(Czech Republic)
Small Cap Broker of the Year:PKO Bank Polski S.A.(Poland)
Products & Service Provider of the Year: GLTRADE (Poland)
North America Winners
Stock Exchange of the Year: Nasdaq (USA)
Online Broker of the Year: TD Ameritrade (USA)
Advisory Brokerage of the Year: First Manhattan Co. (USA)
Discretionary Brokerage of the Year: Citi Group (USA)
Corporate Broker of the Year: Moors & Cabot (USA)
Market Maker of the Year: Barclays Capital (USA)
Small Cap Broker of the Year:Ladenburg FinancialServices (USA)
Products & Service Provider of the Year: Greenline (USA)
South America Winners
Stock Exchange of the Year: BM&F Bovespa (Brazil)
Online Broker of the Year: PAX CVC LTDA. (Brazil)
Advisory Brokerage of the Year:Brascan Corretora de Titulose Valores (Brazil)
Discretionary Brokerage of the Year: Bes Securities (Brazil)
Corporate Broker of the Year: Merrill Lynch (Brazil)
Market Maker of the Year: Deutsche Bank (Brazil)
Small Cap Broker of the Year:DIFERENCIAL CTVMS.A. (Brazil)
Products & Service Provider of the Year: Orc Software (Brazil)
East Asia Winners
Stock Exchange of the Year:Shanghai Stock Exchange(China)
Online Broker of the Year:Phillip Securities Pte Ltd(Singapore)
Advisory Brokerage of the Year:Great Wall securities Co.,Ltd (China)
Discretionary Brokerage of the Year:UBS Securities Co. Ltd(China)
Corporate Broker of the Year: BOC International (China)
Market Maker of the Year:China International CapitalCorp (China)
Small Cap Broker of the Year:Hainan SecuritiesCompany (China)
Products & Service Provider of the Year: Kotka Securities (India)
Africa Winners
Stock Exchange of the Year:Cairo Alexandria StockExchange (Egypt)
Online Broker of the Year: Sigma Securities (Egypt)
Advisory Brokerage of the Year:Credit Suisse StandardSecurities Ltd
Discretionary Brokerage of the Year: Beltone Financial (Egypt)
Corporate Broker of the Year: Ned Bank (South Africa)
Market Maker of the Year:Investec Securities Ltd(South Africa)
Small Cap Broker of the Year:
Barnard Jacobs MelletSecurities (Pty) Ltd (South Africa)
Products & Service Provider of the Year: 3iInfotech (South Africa)
Middle East Winners
Stock Exchange of the Year: ADX (Abu Dhabi)
Online Broker of the Year: Mubasher (Bahrain)
Best Execution Broker:Al Ramz Securities (AbuDhabi)
Discretionary Brokerage of the Year: SHUAA Capital (Dubai)
Corporate Broker of the Year: TAIB Securities (Bahrain)
Market Maker of the Year:Kuwait Finance House(Kuwait)
Small Cap Broker of the Year: Amwal Brokerage (Fujairah)Products & Service Provider of the Year:
National TechnologyGroup (Bahrain)
47World Finance | Mar - Apr 2010
T
he spoken word started civilisation, the printed
word started industrialisation, and the internet started the infor-
mation age. Today, the world is open for businesses, as the internet
has fundamentally reshaped international markets and brought the
vision of a global economy to fruition. The internet has brought
us closer for we no longer live estranged and isolated; rather, we
have become interconnected in a globalised world. DIF Broker is
looking to the future with an innovative Dorsey, Wright & Associ-
ates (DWA) partnership. DWA is an equity owner of DIF Broker;
it is a special partner that provides managed solutions for investors
with a long-term, wealth building horizon. The global models are
automatically managed in an account at DIF. We have kept the tac-
tically managed Exchange Traded Fund Models (ETFM) of DWA
while taking the human emotion out of the equation. The tactically
managed models span the globe from the far east to Europe.
In fact, DIF (www.difbroker.com) is presently the only plat-
form that offers such models to individual investors. The future is
here and now at DIF. Not only are automatically managed models
available for the investor who is too busy to devote time for invest-
ment research, but he also can access DWA’s productivity system
of portfolio development and management from the DIF platform.
In today’s information age, what we learn and understand about
products is often more valuable than the product itself. At DIF,
The investor can now access 40 countries with all commodities and foreign exchanges in one place, says Paulo Pinto
we provide the most comprehensive information for researching
investments as well as a place to execute and manage portfolios.
The Internet reshaped international markets and brought
the vision of a global economy. In turn, DIF has brought a business
model focused on the needs of the client.
DIF and DWA have transitioned globalisation of capital
markets out of the exclusive domain of financial institutions and
into the hands of everyday investors.
DIF’s Chief Operating Officer Paulo Pinto stated, “In the
beginning, we believed that more and more people would become
interested in stocks trading around the world. DIF’s vision was to
become the global broker of choice for retail investors interested
in adding international assets and derivatives to their investment
portfolios. We then realised that investing internationally is a chal-
lenging experience to most retail investors.” Mr Pinto continued:
“What was needed was a systematic, logical and organised ap-
proach to investing globally. We had to provide technical research
to our clients to help them untangle the maze of countries with via-
ble stock exchanges and provide one source of research that speaks
the same language in every country: supply and demand.”
“With trading online becoming a commodity, we quickly
understood that our value proposition was not to become the big-
gest broker but instead to be the best broker for individual inves-
Trading without frontiers
52
World Finance | Mar - Apr 2010
Exchange and Brokerage
If history is any guide, this erratic marketcould go on for another 10 years or longer
tors to build wealth for retirement,” said Mr Pinto. This is where
DWA joined the team. This group is a US-based global research and
money management firm that is the primary provider of technical
research to large institutions such as Morgan Stanley, SmithBarney
and Wachovia Bank. This firm provides on a subscription basis its
global technical analysis productivity system on DIF. It also provides
the guided or auto managed investment models on DIF, which is
truly revolutionary. DIF, in conjunction with DWA’s auto managed
accounts, shares the only broker/dealer platform in the world that
provides this information to the individual investor.
“Our next few years will be characterised by innovative
modeling solutions that will change how people invest. I guarantee
it,” said Mr Pinto.
Most investors are always looking for that stock that will
constantly increase in value. In many cases, however, the overall
market is simply not in a position to support rising prices; rather,
lower prices can often be a more reasonable expectation. At times
like this, one must think about playing defensively and for the
long-term. The market moves through periods conducive to wealth
accumulation and periods of wealth preservation, and a prudent
investor must be aware of these types of markets.
“For most people in this business, it’s always a bull market if
you have the right stocks. At DIF, it’s different because we believe
we could be 10 years into a 20-year bear market. We now have
the Dow at the same level it was in 1999, which means we have
already lost a decade in the index’’ said Pedro Lino, Chief Executive
Officer. “Markets move in cycles, and we had a 19-year bull market
from 1982 and 2000 when it was easy to make money. This past
10 years proved how difficult it is to make money in a bear market
bouncing up and down, yet going nowhere. If history is any guide,
this erratic market could go on for another 10 years or longer.’’
Not only that, but the modern portfolio theory, which relates indi-
vidual stock price changes to group stocks’ values, has now been
discredited; the year 2008 demonstrated that all asset classes can
become correlated simultaneously.
Stock trading is uncomplicated in a bull market because times
are good and people are optimistic; whereas attitudes and fears rise
during bear markets. It is easy to confuse and correlate clear think-
ing with a bull market. This is why we at DIF created the private
broker concept with a top-down approach to the market that be-
gins with the overall market. We then break up the market into its
components: asset classes and sectors. We view the overall market
first with an offensive and defensive approach and then put our
game plan into force. Our unique approach has not changed since
we began using it, yet Wall Street has lost favour with this method
in exchange for highly sophisticated, yet questionable, algorithms
that all too often sink investment programmes. One must embrace
the irrefutable law of supply and demand and nothing else to un-
derstand the simple price changes of stocks in world markets.
At DIF, people are no longer willing to believe in some version
of the myth that one’s portfolio can grow 15-20 percent a year with-
out risk. We endeavour to mitigate risk as much as possible by es-
tablishing a close relationship with the client. We educate and build
our client’s confidence, as he works with an investment professional
to construct a personal portfolio tailor-made to fit his expectations.
The client and investment professional will work together on making
good decisions and smart trades, and the client will be apprised of all
alerts and portfolio changes that may be of interest.
The day is rapidly approaching where the individual will
have to take greater responsibility for his own financial affairs. We
will help them learn to manage their own portfolios, watch their
investments, and remain calm during bear, bull, and sporadically
changing markets.
Dif Broker is an independant and privately owned registered
Broker company; www.difbroker.com
The Internet has fundamentallyreshaped international markets
53
World Finance | Mar - Apr 2010