In an exclusive interview with FX News Group, Barry Flanigan, Head of e-Trading at iSAM Securities reflects on his time at the company and the future direction of the brand and its offering.
Q1: Can you tell us about your role and journey within the iSAM Group, from its inception and the early days of its affiliation to the FX Industry?
A: I joined iSAM back in 2009 when it was just a small team, operating as a discretionary hedge fund out of Cape Town. In 2010, as our assets grew, I moved to London as we started institutionalizing and evolving the business into what became a Systematic CTA (at time of print, managing almost $6bn AUM), after merging with a New York family office in 2011. Initially, my focus was on operations and trading, but as the team was very small, I was involved in almost all parts of the business.
As we expanded the fund, I led the integration of OTC FX trading, as we looked to increase the asset and product range. This was particularly important, in that product diversification is a core component to a CTA fund. OTC trading broke new ground and was the beginning of opening the boundaries to new markets, of which the fund now trades over 600 different instruments.
Moving along to 2013, recognizing the potential to replicate our success on the buy side, we launched iSAM FX. This venture paved the way for our entry into the sell side, catering to a wider market with our technology-driven approach to spot FX liquidity optimization and the seeds of our longer-term aspiration.
Q2: There have been a few different iterations of iSAM Securities, how has this evolution contributed to becoming the company you are today?
A: When we initially started iSAM Securities (formerly iS Prime), we gained attention and acclaim in the industry with our focus on high-performance technology. There seemed to be a misconception that the retail industry wasn’t ready or wanted this sort of sophistication, but it was a huge success and we found ourselves in a niche whereby we offered Institutional, Hedge Fund grade products that retail brokers could leverage their business off. This allowed many of our clients to focus on marketing and distribution, something that they are truly remarkable at doing on a mass scale.
Our final transition to iSAM Securities signified our commitment to a vision. With over 50 professionals across quant research, eTrading, engineering, and sales, we leverage our hedge fund DNA to offer sophisticated trading solutions to clients.
While we share operations such as legal, compliance and risk across the iSAM group, iSAM Securities operates autonomously and with clarity, focusing on delivering cutting-edge products and technology to the market.
Q3: What trends have you noticed in recent market demand and how have iSAM Securities adapted to accommodate this?
A: The retail segment is highly susceptible to price fluctuations and heavily relies on stability. We found a clear challenge in that the reliance purely on price aggregation and third-party vendors made it very difficult to guarantee stability, in what can be an extremely temperamental and often nuanced market.
In response to this, we gradually shifted our focus away from a pure brokerage model and towards the market making space, aiming to address the inefficiencies associated with some of its dependencies.
This initial step was to have full control over our offering and “price curation” for clients and eventual detachment from sole reliance on inputs of liquidity into an aggregation engine. We have been advocating for years that simply adding duplicate LPs and brokers into one client price has a false economy, which has a detrimental effect of the value of the flow, and the non-trivial cost (direct and indirect) on networks and trading systems.
By re-investing success into resources, both human and technological, we have developed a purpose-built, proprietary product which can be fully customised for clients, and is built on our ultra-low latency platform (this is not just a buzz word, our systems are running in the microseconds for pricing and execution).
The net result is that the current product and service we offer to our clients - the retail broker and, by extension, their millions of end users – gains a robust and preeminent product that they can build their business and reputation off.
Q4: What are you most proud of in iSAM Securities’ journey thus far?
A: I’ve always been far prouder of how we have gone about building our business, rather than the financial or corporate accolades. We have amazingly smart individuals who have helped accomplish each milestone, but ultimately, we are far greater than just the sum of individual components.
Looking back, and you don’t realize it at the time, but it's been an extraordinary journey from a small organization to over 160 individuals across the iSAM group, all with a material contribution. Throughout this growth, we have remained focused on hiring the right people, with the right skills, at the right time. We have also diligently learned from the market and our clients, integrating these lessons into our day-to-day practices and ethics.
We have also stayed true to our strengths and expertise, even when it meant forging our own path. I often say that there is never a dull day at iSAM Securities as we focus on continuous improvement and positive impact every day. I believe we have made a meaningful contribution to the industry while maintaining our integrity. As we move forward, this dedication will continue to drive our growth and shape our future endeavours.
Q5: And finally, can you describe or shed some light into the future aspirations for iSAM Securities?
A: As we look ahead, our focus is on leveraging our success with our retail broker customers to further diversify into the wholesale market.
Whilst we've made significant strides in catering to retail brokers, we recognize the immense potential in expanding our reach to institutional clients. With established distribution partners and a deep understanding of the wholesale market, we believe we are well positioned to bridge this gap.
Our future plans involve bringing together the strengths of both segments to offer a unique product that sets us apart from our peers in both spaces. By integrating retail and institutional markets, we aim to unlock new opportunities and provide a level of access that is not available elsewhere.
This niche but fortunate position only enhances our competitive edge and also reinforces our commitment to driving innovation and the future of trading.