"The market has become more reliable," Stanislav Vaneev, president of Grand Capital
Today the director of Grand Capital, a company that recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, is our guest at the editorial board of the magazine. Let's talk to Stanislav Vaneev about what has changed over these years in the company and on the market as a whole.
- Hello, Stanislav. The company Grand Capital is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Tell us, how did it all begin for you? How did you get acquainted with the foreign exchange market?
- It all started when I was a student, then living in St. Petersburg and studying at the University of Architecture and Construction. Of course, I did not have enough money, so I had to look for additional ways to earn money: that is how I came to know about currency speculation. Since then I have been working with currency and helping others to earn and invest.
- Ten years is a milestone in history in Russia. In your opinion, how has the currency market and traders changed during this time?
-In my opinion, traders do not change much, but due to the availability of the Internet, the average trader's portrait has changed. For example, earlier men considered this sphere to be strictly their domain and women trading on the market were treated rather arrogantly, and there were really few representatives of the fair sex in trading. Now there are more girls in the profession, so for ten years the average trader's portrait has "improved" a lot.
[info_block align="right"]The most important trend in recent years is the shift in commerce to mobile gadgets[/info_block]
As for general changes, there have always been traders who study a lot, work and strive to develop professionally. Such traders are always changing - brokers, tools, needs. And those who came to "play" quickly burn out, the market itself discards unsuitable for this activity.
- And how has the market changed?
- The currency market has changed a lot. When I opened my company in 2006, there was still voice trading. Now it is enough to have a smartphone and the Internet to access the exchange. The most important trend in recent years is the shift in trading to mobile gadgets. Five years ago brokers were selling the idea of trading from anywhere in the world, but now the trend is "trading on the go.
Undoubtedly, during this time the range of trading instruments has expanded. For example, CFD-contracts have become more popular, the mass popularity of binary optionsThe currency market has changed in terms of regulation, and countries have begun to introduce stricter regulatory measures. The currency market has changed in terms of regulation, countries began to introduce stricter regulatory measures. Thus, the market has become more reliable.
With regulation came security payments and responsible brokers, and as a result, the quality of the services provided increased.
- What problems do brokers face today?
- In today's Russian service market, the trend toward black PR is distressing. Over the past year, custom-made "trolls" have become especially active, perhaps even working on a salary. They leave typical reviews on different resources at the same period in large numbers, and so on several times a month.
We identify them as trolls, because attempts to find out what exactly the client is dissatisfied with and whether it is our client at all are 99% times fruitless. Some leave feedback from Facebook accounts, and a second "investigation" reveals that the pages are fake. This is all very unfortunate.
Firstly, some elementary business ethics should be observed. Secondly, there are no adequate opportunities to regulate this problem, and meanwhile the reputation of brokers and the industry as a whole suffers.
- Do you think currency trading, once alien, could become a common way of earning and investing for CIS traders? Or is it still an "exotic" and "lottery"?
[info_block align="right"]The cure in such cases is education.[/info_block]
- This is really a lottery for those who have been burned once for lack of knowledge, and for those who are not familiar with this field at all. The cure in such cases is education.
Almost any broker offers a minimum educational program. For example, at Grand Capital there are several options to get financial education for free. The idea of "trading is exotic" is probably already outdated, investing has become a part of everyday life. Regular economic crises in our country have done their job: people have become seriously concerned about preserving and increasing income through market surges. Just remember the crisis of 2014 and the collapse of the Swiss franc in 2016 - all these are excellent reasons to make money. Even retirees understand this. In our newspaper "Time of Finance" we tell several stories about successful "grandmother-investors". Such people arouse deep respect. Their heads work, they are busy, they earn themselves and set an example for others.
- How do you see the market in Russia in five years?
- This is a complicated issue. Our deputies are so sudden and unpredictable that I do not undertake to make any long-term predictions. But I would still hazard a guess that in five years the market will not change globally.
Of course, there will be new services and modernization of trade equipment. In terms of licensing, countries will become more thorough in regulating their markets and complicating the rules of operation. Therefore, more and more security payments and charter capitals will be required for companies. This will give traders more protection.
- What has changed in your company over the past decade?
- In fact, we have gone from a startup with one office in St. Petersburg to an international company with offices in Asia, Africa, China, India, and Europe. Our site has been translated into twelve languages, and the number is constantly growing. The image of the company as a whole has changed, we have a great team, a young and motivated team. This is the main achievement for me as a manager.
The company began to participate in the largest events -industry in the world. In addition, several other projects grew out of the company, including the UpTrader broker software company.
[info_block align="right"]The next stage we plan to explore the possibility of obtaining a license from the Central Bank of Russia.[/info_block]
- Do you plan to obtain a license from the Bank of Russia in the near future?
- Now we are in the process of getting a CySec license. I think it will be ready by the beginning of next year. Also in March 2016 we received a license from the government of St. Petersburg to conduct educational activity, now all our educational projects are in the legal field. The next stage we plan to study the possibility of obtaining a license from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
- With what indicators did you finish the first decade? What changes in Grand Capital should traders expect in the coming years?
- The company has grown significantly in trade turnover, now our turnover is about $4.7 billion. For comparison, in 2014 it was $1.7 billion. We have increased the number of foreign partners, we opened offices in India, in South Africa. We have been trying to find an approach to China for a long time, and finally with a new team of regional development managers, it has begun to bear fruit. The company is shifting more and more into the technology area.
We are going to improve the execution, we plan to adapt all the services of the company for mobile trading, a mobile application for binary options is being developed now. We also have plans to develop investment services and financial literacy training. I hope we will continue to increase our growth rate and strive to become the perfect company.
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