London Summit's Professional Discussions to Conclude With Awards Ceremony

Day two at the Forex Magnates London Summit is now well underway.

While yesterday's events were largely focused on networking, today the panels are on center stage. With the bulk of panels later in the afternoon, crowds are expected to become larger as the day goes on.

Things are already buzzing with scattered meetings taking place all around quiet areas of the Summit's luxurious venue, while some attendees from out of town have mentioned to us that they were using the morning for local meetings.

Kicking off the morning's discussion activity was the HFT panel, with a synopsis of some of the more interesting topics as follows:

Is FX benefiting from the regulation of HFT?

During this panel discussion, a question on whether FX was benefiting from regulations aimed at curbing HFT on exchanges arose.

The short answer was an "overall yes", as FX “is still a blind spot to regulators” with the focus on fixed income and equities.

Welcome flow? Overall, FX constituents are not very excited about this type of flow as systems used in stocks are based on speed which can become predatory.

So, is arbitrage a good thing? Among the panelists, Frederic Ponzo, Managing Partner, GreySpark Partners, believed it was. He explained that basically arbitragers are attacking flawed pricing. As Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term providers do more to prevent latency and bad pricing, this is a positive benefit in terms of creating fair pricing for the FX market.

Platform changes. Panelists were asked what they thought of randomized execution and other procedure that are put in place to curb HFT. The consensus was that, by and large, trading platforms are made to connect buyers are sellers. Each has their needs. But, when one sides needs are met better than the other, volume dries up quickly. Therefore, this balance is a key consideration for platforms.

After the panel, it was off to make use of more exhibition time, and then lunch sponsored by CommexFX.

Later on during the afternoon, the schedule will get busier, with panels addressing the issues of the interrelations between the buy-side and sell-side in FX, efficient execution in FX, followed by a keynote speech to be delivered by Michael Cross, Head of Foreign Exchange and Reserves Management at the Bank of England.

The keynote speech will lead to the "Elevator Pitch" event: An exciting, 2-minute-per-company pitch session, in which the most innovative financial technology companies will compete against each other to get the award for the "Most Innovative Financial Product" award.

Just before the day ends with drinks at the Saxo Bar, Forex Magnates Annual Awards Ceremony will be presented by Michael Greenberg, CEO of Forex Magnates.

The categories include Best Broker, Best Retail FX Technology Provider, Best Proprietary Platform, Best Mobile Platform, Best Liquidity Provider, Best Prime Broker and more.

Who will win which award this year? Stay tuned for our reports from the summit and you will be (almost) first to know.