Avramis Despotis, chief executive and chief instructor at Tradepedia, talks about the benefits of investing across assets and markets.
What is the asset class and geography you are focused on?
This is actually one of the biggest challenges that investors and traders face, but Tradepedia trades across all markets. One of the biggest mistakes people make is to focus on one asset class in one market. But at a specific time one asset class performs better than another, and as trend followers we like to trade trending markets. For example, for the first nine months of last year, equity markets in the United States, Dubai and Saudi stock exchanges were trending strongly and forex instruments such as the euro, dollar and the yen were not. So we focused on equities. In terms of commodities, cotton and oil have fallen sharply in the last few months, which was another great opportunity to make money. Now the local markets are not trending strongly but currencies are and the cycle goes on. We have the tools to scan all the markets across asset classes and find the ones that match our criteria and trade those. As a result, we only have one preferred asset class – the one trending now in each country.
What is the outlook for the month ahead?
Currently our favourite market is forex as the end of the quantitative easing (QE) has made clear the direction of the interest rate differential between the US and the rest of the world. As you know what moves the forex market is interest rate differentials, the currency with the higher interest rate appreciates versus the other one and the end of the quantitative easing has shifted the balance towards a strong dollar. We expect this strength to continue for the remainder of the year and into the next. On the equity side we expect more volatile trading as we move towards the end of the year in both the local and international markets.
What are the main risks, either upside or downside, to the outlook?
The good thing about investing across assets and markets is that a risk in one market is an opportunity in the other. We have already recommended to our clients that they reduce exposure to the local markets and increase it in the international markets, especially forex.
What is the best investment at the moment?
Long dollar versus euro and yen, but there are also other currencies investors could consider. For those who haven’t gone “long” already they can wait for a retracement at lower levels to establish positions. As I said, even though this is not something imminent, the market moves on expectations and the expectation is that at some point, the US will raise interest rates while Japan, Europe and China have no such plans in the near future. As a result, dollar strength is not only clear from a technical analysis perspective but also has a fundamental story behind it.
What was the best investment you were ever involved in?
We “shorted” the Greek stock exchange in late 2009 from 2,500, to the 550 level in mid- 2012 and bought a long position to take advantage of the subsequent rise to 1,000 points last year. The story is well documented in the Greek press and financial websites.
What was the worst?
A long time ago, in 1999 I was involved in the Greek and Cypriot stock exchanges before learning how to trade. During the crash of 1999, I lost all my capital. I turned this experience into a learning opportunity and moved into trading using technical analysis. I knew that there was a way to trade profitably and learnt technical analysis while working as a trader in forex in the banking sector. When I qualified in 2003, I then started successfully trading forex and bonds.
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Need to know
The flights: Flydubai flies from Dubai to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar es Salaam from Dh1,619 return including taxes. The trip takes 8 hours.
The trek: Make sure that whatever tour company you select to climb Kilimanjaro, that it is a reputable one. The way to climb successfully would be with experienced guides and porters, from a company committed to quality, safety and an ethical approach to the mountain and its staff. Sonia Nazareth booked a VIP package through Safari Africa. The tour works out to $4,775 (Dh17,538) per person, based on a 4-person booking scheme, for 9 nights on the mountain (including one night before and after the trek at Arusha). The price includes all meals, a head guide, an assistant guide for every 2 trekkers, porters to carry the luggage, a cook and kitchen staff, a dining and mess tent, a sleeping tent set up for 2 persons, a chemical toilet and park entrance fees. The tiny ration of heated water provided for our bath in our makeshift private bathroom stall was the greatest luxury. A standard package, also based on a 4-person booking, works out to $3,050 (Dh11,202) per person.
When to go: You can climb Kili at any time of year, but the best months to ascend are January-February and September-October. Also good are July and August, if you’re tolerant of the colder weather that winter brings.
Do not underestimate the importance of kit. Even if you’re travelling at a relatively pleasant time, be geared up for the cold and the rain.
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
MATCH INFO
Rajasthan Royals 158-8 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 143/7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals won by 15 runs