Veterans of London’s trading floors reflected on how technology and regulation have reshaped FX and
derivatives dealing at FMLS:25, in a panel that mixed nostalgia, dark humor and
a sober recognition that “sterile” modern markets still run on relationships
and human judgment.
Moderated by Matthew Cheung, the CEO of fintech data
platform ipushpull, the “FX Tales: Stories from the Floor” session brought
together Daniel Benton, the Head of Sales and Client Services at London Capital
Group, Camilla Boldracchi, Institutional Sales Manager at CMC Connect, and
Clive Lambert, the Technical Analyst at Futurestechs.
All three stressed that entry to the industry had once
been strikingly informal. Lambert recalled simply “walking around employment
agencies in London”, landing two offers and choosing stockbroking, while
admitting his 19‑year‑old son now faces months of competitive interviewing.
“I walked around, I mean, this is totally irrelevant
for these days. I walked around employment agencies in London, and I got
actually, and got two interviews, and got two jobs, one in insurance, one in
stockbroking”
From left: Matthew Cheung, Daniel Benton, Camilla Boldracchi, and Clive Lambert
Benton described sending 250 letters drafted by his
father, whose embellishments included hobbies such as “socialising” and being a
Tottenham Hotspur season ticket holder, before securing “a job I didn’t know
I’d applied for, in an industry I knew nothing about” – but at £8,500 a year,
it beat “50 quid a week” as a paperboy.
Technology Levels the Field, but Relationships Endure
A central theme was how technology has flattened
information asymmetries while changing, but not erasing, the role of human
brokers and salespeople.
You may also like: “Prop Trading Will Transform FX Like Retail Did 25 Years Ago,” ATFX’s Drew Niv at FMLS:25
Cheung prompted the panel to compare today’s real‑time
feeds with the era of Teletext, Ceefax and phone‑only dealing, when retail
access to prices was limited and execution depended on calling a broker.
Benton recalled 1999, when “the only way clients could
trade was over the phone” and some non‑clients abused toll‑free lines simply to
obtain live prices.
“So if things weren’t too busy, we’d have this regular
caller who was a bit of a pest. And what we did was we’d have a little bit of
fun with him. So he’d phone up and say, what’s FTSE today? And you’d say, it’s
up five points. And he’d say, why is it up? And you’d say, more buyers and
sellers.”
Lambert’s favourite anecdote – clearing a packed City pub in “four seconds” by shouting “rate cut” during an emergency Bank of
England move – illustrated how slowly information once spread beyond
professional circles.
“Now, retail and everybody really is on a reasonably
level playing field, especially with products like squawks and things like that
that enable you to get information as quickly as the institutions.”
The Art of Sales
Boldracchi highlighted the shift in her client base
from heads of operations and trading to quants who “don’t really care about
being taken out for lunch” and are “a lot more analytical”, focused on pricing
and execution quality.
“However, that knowing that there’s always someone on
the other side of the line, irrespective of how much markets are open is hugely
important still, I’d say. I’ve been really pleased to see relationship broking
survive, to be honest, because I was a broker on the futures, on the life
floor.”
More from FMLS:25: “Retail Brokers Know the Client, Institutional Players Know the Flow,” Insights from FMLS:25
In sales, the panel agreed, the fundamentals have
stayed constant even as styles have adapted to new products, clients and
oversight.
Benton, who has spent more than two decades in sales,
said the core remains “understanding the client”, not over‑promising and
delivering consistently, and sometimes being honest enough to say, “we can’t
help you here” but steering clients to areas of strength.
Transactions that in 1999 were “virtually all
phone‑based” are now largely electronic, he noted, leaving salespeople to “help
if things go wrong, give clients a cuddle if they’ve lost money, [and] take
them out if they’ve had a good time.”
“The most important thing has always been being honest
and doing your very best for the client. And sometimes your best for a client
is to say, look, I’m sorry, we can’t help you here or we can’t help you here,
but where we’re very strong is here and here.”
Adaptation Inside Multi-Product Firms
Boldracchi described modern institutional sales as an
exercise in adaptation inside multi‑product firms. At a group like CMC, she
said, salespeople must “morph” into different personas depending on whether
they are dealing with FX, equities or technology‑driven clients, effectively
becoming “a bit of a chameleon” to match technical depth and risk appetite.
“I think trading floors are a little bit different
now, Cam. Yeah, I mean, I feel like things are becoming a lot more sterile.” For all the camaraderie and excess in the older
stories, the panel did not romanticize everything.
The speakers acknowledged
that many of the antics they described would now breach HR and conduct rules,
that getting a first job is “really, really difficult” for today’s graduates,
and that remote work has damped some of the energy and spontaneity of physical
floors.
But their message to the FMLS audience was that,
beneath the algorithms and regulations, the FX and derivatives business still
depends on human relationships, quick thinking and an ability to adapt –
whether as a farm‑hand‑turned‑broker, a multilingual salesperson or a young
runner whose knack for finding a quiet cupboard becomes City legend.
Veterans of London’s trading floors reflected on how technology and regulation have reshaped FX and
derivatives dealing at FMLS:25, in a panel that mixed nostalgia, dark humor and
a sober recognition that “sterile” modern markets still run on relationships
and human judgment.
Moderated by Matthew Cheung, the CEO of fintech data
platform ipushpull, the “FX Tales: Stories from the Floor” session brought
together Daniel Benton, the Head of Sales and Client Services at London Capital
Group, Camilla Boldracchi, Institutional Sales Manager at CMC Connect, and
Clive Lambert, the Technical Analyst at Futurestechs.
All three stressed that entry to the industry had once
been strikingly informal. Lambert recalled simply “walking around employment
agencies in London”, landing two offers and choosing stockbroking, while
admitting his 19‑year‑old son now faces months of competitive interviewing.
“I walked around, I mean, this is totally irrelevant
for these days. I walked around employment agencies in London, and I got
actually, and got two interviews, and got two jobs, one in insurance, one in
stockbroking”
From left: Matthew Cheung, Daniel Benton, Camilla Boldracchi, and Clive Lambert
Benton described sending 250 letters drafted by his
father, whose embellishments included hobbies such as “socialising” and being a
Tottenham Hotspur season ticket holder, before securing “a job I didn’t know
I’d applied for, in an industry I knew nothing about” – but at £8,500 a year,
it beat “50 quid a week” as a paperboy.
Technology Levels the Field, but Relationships Endure
A central theme was how technology has flattened
information asymmetries while changing, but not erasing, the role of human
brokers and salespeople.
You may also like: “Prop Trading Will Transform FX Like Retail Did 25 Years Ago,” ATFX’s Drew Niv at FMLS:25
Cheung prompted the panel to compare today’s real‑time
feeds with the era of Teletext, Ceefax and phone‑only dealing, when retail
access to prices was limited and execution depended on calling a broker.
Benton recalled 1999, when “the only way clients could
trade was over the phone” and some non‑clients abused toll‑free lines simply to
obtain live prices.
“So if things weren’t too busy, we’d have this regular
caller who was a bit of a pest. And what we did was we’d have a little bit of
fun with him. So he’d phone up and say, what’s FTSE today? And you’d say, it’s
up five points. And he’d say, why is it up? And you’d say, more buyers and
sellers.”
Lambert’s favourite anecdote – clearing a packed City pub in “four seconds” by shouting “rate cut” during an emergency Bank of
England move – illustrated how slowly information once spread beyond
professional circles.
“Now, retail and everybody really is on a reasonably
level playing field, especially with products like squawks and things like that
that enable you to get information as quickly as the institutions.”
The Art of Sales
Boldracchi highlighted the shift in her client base
from heads of operations and trading to quants who “don’t really care about
being taken out for lunch” and are “a lot more analytical”, focused on pricing
and execution quality.
“However, that knowing that there’s always someone on
the other side of the line, irrespective of how much markets are open is hugely
important still, I’d say. I’ve been really pleased to see relationship broking
survive, to be honest, because I was a broker on the futures, on the life
floor.”
More from FMLS:25: “Retail Brokers Know the Client, Institutional Players Know the Flow,” Insights from FMLS:25
In sales, the panel agreed, the fundamentals have
stayed constant even as styles have adapted to new products, clients and
oversight.
Benton, who has spent more than two decades in sales,
said the core remains “understanding the client”, not over‑promising and
delivering consistently, and sometimes being honest enough to say, “we can’t
help you here” but steering clients to areas of strength.
Transactions that in 1999 were “virtually all
phone‑based” are now largely electronic, he noted, leaving salespeople to “help
if things go wrong, give clients a cuddle if they’ve lost money, [and] take
them out if they’ve had a good time.”
“The most important thing has always been being honest
and doing your very best for the client. And sometimes your best for a client
is to say, look, I’m sorry, we can’t help you here or we can’t help you here,
but where we’re very strong is here and here.”
Adaptation Inside Multi-Product Firms
Boldracchi described modern institutional sales as an
exercise in adaptation inside multi‑product firms. At a group like CMC, she
said, salespeople must “morph” into different personas depending on whether
they are dealing with FX, equities or technology‑driven clients, effectively
becoming “a bit of a chameleon” to match technical depth and risk appetite.
“I think trading floors are a little bit different
now, Cam. Yeah, I mean, I feel like things are becoming a lot more sterile.” For all the camaraderie and excess in the older
stories, the panel did not romanticize everything.
The speakers acknowledged
that many of the antics they described would now breach HR and conduct rules,
that getting a first job is “really, really difficult” for today’s graduates,
and that remote work has damped some of the energy and spontaneity of physical
floors.
But their message to the FMLS audience was that,
beneath the algorithms and regulations, the FX and derivatives business still
depends on human relationships, quick thinking and an ability to adapt –
whether as a farm‑hand‑turned‑broker, a multilingual salesperson or a young
runner whose knack for finding a quiet cupboard becomes City legend.
