Club Finance with Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier

In the space of just a few years, the world's largest capital market - over 4 trillion dollars are traded daily on the foreign exchange markets - has undergone spectacular growth. With the development of new products (basket indices and style indices associated with "carry trade" strategies), and new trading platforms via the Internet, FOREX has opened up to an increasingly broad investor base. How can we understand this trend?

At the start of 2011, what are the major trends in the foreign exchange market? Should we continue to play the wild ride of the AUD, CHF and NOK, betting on the continuing fall of the pound (GBP) or the euro? On the contrary, should we play the dollar's comeback against all odds in the face of quantitative easing? Finally, how should we play emerging currencies? What is the development potential and liquidity of the major emerging currencies (Real, Yuan, Korean Won, Indian Rupee) in relation to developed currencies, what instruments should be used (CFDs, currency swaps, forex forwards, etc.), and what is their leverage and risk?

More structurally, what are the characteristics of the FOREX asset class? What are the underlying risk factors and correlations with the major asset classes (commodities, gold and oil, equities, fixed-income), and how do we value and build a currency portfolio? What are the major developments that will shape these markets in the years ahead? Should we fear a return to the past with the introduction of measures aimed at curbing capital movements (exchange controls, taxes, etc.), or is the opening up and development of this market inevitable?

Pierre-Antoine DUSOULIER, began his career as a trader in Paris with CIC, then in London with Commerzbank and Indosuez (now Calyon). In 2006, he created Cambiste.com with the aim of providing French individuals with simple, legal access to the foreign exchange market (Forex). Cambiste.com was the first company to receive CECEI approval to offer a cash-based foreign exchange service including a credit operation. In 2008, Cambiste.com became SAXO BANK France, the first French bank to offer access to the CFD market. Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier is currently President of Saxo Banque (France).