Interview with Graeme Watkins, CEO of Valutrades

Please tell us the company’s story. How did it all start?

A long time ago in a country far far away our founder established the business MiFX which is now one of the largest brokerages in Indonesia. With the goal of expanding globally Valutrades was established in 2012 with the current management team in place since 2016. Since this time Valutrades UK has received it’s full IFPRU730k license from the FCA and Valutrades Seychelles was established as a securities dealer in the Seychelles.

What is it like to be a CEO of a big Fintech company? What are the advantages and the disadvantages of this position for you?

Being the CEO you see the highest high and lowest low of the business but easily the best part of the role is that you are always aligned to the performance of the business over the long term.

Tell us about your background and professional path before Valutrades?

My background has always been in either FX operations or technology for both institutional and retail business. Being in such a position it has given me the benefit of leading Valutrades as a tech business first and sales business second which improves our products and sets us ahead of our competitors.

What are the challenges that your broker faces? And what were your biggest challenges as a CEO?

The biggest challenge is maintaining competitiveness in an increasingly competitive industry. We believe we are able to achieve this though our efficient fintech operating model and relentless focus on product and service.

How does Valutrades stand out in the highly competitive fintech market?

A relentless focus on product and service. We offer some of the lowest spreads and commissions in the industry and will continue to innovate to ensure we always remain the most competitive. Our customers always have the opportunity to interact with us and have their feedback listened to. 

What are the main advantages of your platform?

Low spread, low commission, reliable ECN execution and personal service.

Who would you say is your target audience?

Experienced traders who recognize the value of low spreads and commissions and excellent customer support.

How many of your traders use MT4 and how many chose MT5? Do you plan to create your own custom platform?

The majority of our clients still choose our MT4 platforms however we are seeing a steady growth in the percentage choosing MT5. There are lots of top secret projects around our own trading platform and mobile apps going on at the moment.

How important is the users’ feedback for you? And how do you work with it?

Users feedback is extremely important to us and we try to incorporate all feedback we receive into improving our products and services. 

Generally, brokers put a lot of effort in developing and amplifying their Partner Programs. Please tell us about your Partner Program and the role it plays in the broker’s business?

Like most brokers we offer a strong affiliate marketing program to attract partners who want to work with us. One things we are particularly proud of is that any client that comes through any affiliate channel will never unknowingly receive a spread, commission or service less than if they came directly to Valutrades. This is especially good for the clients but it is also helpful to the affiliates who never have to complete against our direct marketing. We also have a great bonus reward program for affiliates who choose to refer customers regularly. 

What are your company’s plans for the foreseeable future? What goals would like to achieve?

With a less is more philosophy we are currently focused on delivering the lowest commissions and spreads possible for our core products like EURUSD and XAUUSD rather than distracting clients with gimmicks they don’t need.

What would you consider to be the highlight in your broker’s history? What are you particularly proud of?

That we have consistently focused on delivering the best value products and services we can for our clients for the lifetime of Valutrades never putting our own profits first. We also see a lot of customers trading with us for a long period of time. 

What would you like to share with your current and potential traders as Valutrades’ representative?

 We hope they are all benefiting from our low commission and spreads and if there is anything else we can ever do for them please don’t hesitate to reach out and tell us.