Food for thought

Gruma’s Chairman Roberto González Barrera on biting

into global markets

Big pharma

returnsInvestors set to back pharmaceuticals

Saving the

bonus boysTo TARP or not to TARP?

Brave new

worldTwelve CEOs to watch in 2010

world finance

Published by World News MediaMarch-April 2010 | www.worldfinance.com

Robert Shiller Nouriel Roubini David Orrell Niall Ferguson Joseph Nye Selwyn Parker

UK £4.95

CAN $14.75

FRANCE €6.50

GERMANY €15.00

SPAIN €7.00

USA $7.99

World Finance Exchanges & BrokersAwards 2010

The last year was one of the most difficult ever for the exchangesand brokerage industry, as lenders did their best to cope with a

The World Finance editorial team in their research for this listexamined the performance, client list and exchange activity of eachplatform by geographical region. Inclusion in this list is especiallynoteworthy given the exchange climate of 08-09. Congratulationsto the winners.

Western Europe Winners

Stock Exchange of the Year: LSE (UK)

Online Broker of the Year: DIF Broker (Portugal)

Advisory Brokerage of the Year: Central Markets (UK)

Discretionary Brokerage of the Year: Charles Stanley (UK)

Corporate Broker of the Year:Investment Bank of Greece(Greece)

Market Maker of the Year: Barclays Capital (UK)

Small Cap Broker of the Year: Singer Capital Markets (UK)

Products & Service Provider of the Year: Neonet AB (Sweden)

Eastern Europe Winners

Stock Exchange of the Year:Zagreb Stock Exchange(Croatia)

Online Broker of the Year: X-Trade Brokers (Poland)

Advisory Brokerage of the Year: KBC Securities N.V. (Poland)

Discretionary Brokerage of the Year:Erste Securities Polska S.A.(Poland)

Corporate Broker of the Year: BZ WBK Brokerage (Poland)

Market Maker of the Year:CAPITAL PARTNERS, a.s.(Czech Republic)

Small Cap Broker of the Year:PKO Bank Polski S.A.(Poland)

Products & Service Provider of the Year: GLTRADE (Poland)

North America Winners

Stock Exchange of the Year: Nasdaq (USA)

Online Broker of the Year: TD Ameritrade (USA)

Advisory Brokerage of the Year: First Manhattan Co. (USA)

Discretionary Brokerage of the Year: Citi Group (USA)

Corporate Broker of the Year: Moors & Cabot (USA)

Market Maker of the Year: Barclays Capital (USA)

Small Cap Broker of the Year:Ladenburg FinancialServices (USA)

Products & Service Provider of the Year: Greenline (USA)

South America Winners

Stock Exchange of the Year: BM&F Bovespa (Brazil)

Online Broker of the Year: PAX CVC LTDA. (Brazil)

Advisory Brokerage of the Year:Brascan Corretora de Titulose Valores (Brazil)

Discretionary Brokerage of the Year: Bes Securities (Brazil)

Corporate Broker of the Year: Merrill Lynch (Brazil)

Market Maker of the Year: Deutsche Bank (Brazil)

Small Cap Broker of the Year:DIFERENCIAL CTVMS.A. (Brazil)

Products & Service Provider of the Year: Orc Software (Brazil)

East Asia Winners

Stock Exchange of the Year:Shanghai Stock Exchange(China)

Online Broker of the Year:Phillip Securities Pte Ltd(Singapore)

Advisory Brokerage of the Year:Great Wall securities Co.,Ltd (China)

Discretionary Brokerage of the Year:UBS Securities Co. Ltd(China)

Corporate Broker of the Year: BOC International (China)

Market Maker of the Year:China International CapitalCorp (China)

Small Cap Broker of the Year:Hainan SecuritiesCompany (China)

Products & Service Provider of the Year: Kotka Securities (India)

Africa Winners

Stock Exchange of the Year:Cairo Alexandria StockExchange (Egypt)

Online Broker of the Year: Sigma Securities (Egypt)

Advisory Brokerage of the Year:Credit Suisse StandardSecurities Ltd

Discretionary Brokerage of the Year: Beltone Financial (Egypt)

Corporate Broker of the Year: Ned Bank (South Africa)

Market Maker of the Year:Investec Securities Ltd(South Africa)

Small Cap Broker of the Year:

Barnard Jacobs MelletSecurities (Pty) Ltd (South Africa)

Products & Service Provider of the Year: 3iInfotech (South Africa)

Middle East Winners

Stock Exchange of the Year: ADX (Abu Dhabi)

Online Broker of the Year: Mubasher (Bahrain)

Best Execution Broker:Al Ramz Securities (AbuDhabi)

Discretionary Brokerage of the Year: SHUAA Capital (Dubai)

Corporate Broker of the Year: TAIB Securities (Bahrain)

Market Maker of the Year:Kuwait Finance House(Kuwait)

Small Cap Broker of the Year: Amwal Brokerage (Fujairah)Products & Service Provider of the Year:

National TechnologyGroup (Bahrain)

47World Finance | Mar - Apr 2010

T

he spoken word started civilisation, the printed

word started industrialisation, and the internet started the infor-

mation age. Today, the world is open for businesses, as the internet

has fundamentally reshaped international markets and brought the

vision of a global economy to fruition. The internet has brought

us closer for we no longer live estranged and isolated; rather, we

have become interconnected in a globalised world. DIF Broker is

looking to the future with an innovative Dorsey, Wright & Associ-

ates (DWA) partnership. DWA is an equity owner of DIF Broker;

it is a special partner that provides managed solutions for investors

with a long-term, wealth building horizon. The global models are

automatically managed in an account at DIF. We have kept the tac-

tically managed Exchange Traded Fund Models (ETFM) of DWA

while taking the human emotion out of the equation. The tactically

managed models span the globe from the far east to Europe.

In fact, DIF (www.difbroker.com) is presently the only plat-

form that offers such models to individual investors. The future is

here and now at DIF. Not only are automatically managed models

available for the investor who is too busy to devote time for invest-

ment research, but he also can access DWA’s productivity system

of portfolio development and management from the DIF platform.

In today’s information age, what we learn and understand about

products is often more valuable than the product itself. At DIF,

The investor can now access 40 countries with all commodities and foreign exchanges in one place, says Paulo Pinto

we provide the most comprehensive information for researching

investments as well as a place to execute and manage portfolios.

The Internet reshaped international markets and brought

the vision of a global economy. In turn, DIF has brought a business

model focused on the needs of the client.

DIF and DWA have transitioned globalisation of capital

markets out of the exclusive domain of financial institutions and

into the hands of everyday investors.

DIF’s Chief Operating Officer Paulo Pinto stated, “In the

beginning, we believed that more and more people would become

interested in stocks trading around the world. DIF’s vision was to

become the global broker of choice for retail investors interested

in adding international assets and derivatives to their investment

portfolios. We then realised that investing internationally is a chal-

lenging experience to most retail investors.” Mr Pinto continued:

“What was needed was a systematic, logical and organised ap-

proach to investing globally. We had to provide technical research

to our clients to help them untangle the maze of countries with via-

ble stock exchanges and provide one source of research that speaks

the same language in every country: supply and demand.”

“With trading online becoming a commodity, we quickly

understood that our value proposition was not to become the big-

gest broker but instead to be the best broker for individual inves-

Trading without frontiers

52

World Finance | Mar - Apr 2010

Exchange and Brokerage

If history is any guide, this erratic marketcould go on for another 10 years or longer

tors to build wealth for retirement,” said Mr Pinto. This is where

DWA joined the team. This group is a US-based global research and

money management firm that is the primary provider of technical

research to large institutions such as Morgan Stanley, SmithBarney

and Wachovia Bank. This firm provides on a subscription basis its

global technical analysis productivity system on DIF. It also provides

the guided or auto managed investment models on DIF, which is

truly revolutionary. DIF, in conjunction with DWA’s auto managed

accounts, shares the only broker/dealer platform in the world that

provides this information to the individual investor.

“Our next few years will be characterised by innovative

modeling solutions that will change how people invest. I guarantee

it,” said Mr Pinto.

Most investors are always looking for that stock that will

constantly increase in value. In many cases, however, the overall

market is simply not in a position to support rising prices; rather,

lower prices can often be a more reasonable expectation. At times

like this, one must think about playing defensively and for the

long-term. The market moves through periods conducive to wealth

accumulation and periods of wealth preservation, and a prudent

investor must be aware of these types of markets.

“For most people in this business, it’s always a bull market if

you have the right stocks. At DIF, it’s different because we believe

we could be 10 years into a 20-year bear market. We now have

the Dow at the same level it was in 1999, which means we have

already lost a decade in the index’’ said Pedro Lino, Chief Executive

Officer. “Markets move in cycles, and we had a 19-year bull market

from 1982 and 2000 when it was easy to make money. This past

10 years proved how difficult it is to make money in a bear market

bouncing up and down, yet going nowhere. If history is any guide,

this erratic market could go on for another 10 years or longer.’’

Not only that, but the modern portfolio theory, which relates indi-

vidual stock price changes to group stocks’ values, has now been

discredited; the year 2008 demonstrated that all asset classes can

become correlated simultaneously.

Stock trading is uncomplicated in a bull market because times

are good and people are optimistic; whereas attitudes and fears rise

during bear markets. It is easy to confuse and correlate clear think-

ing with a bull market. This is why we at DIF created the private

broker concept with a top-down approach to the market that be-

gins with the overall market. We then break up the market into its

components: asset classes and sectors. We view the overall market

first with an offensive and defensive approach and then put our

game plan into force. Our unique approach has not changed since

we began using it, yet Wall Street has lost favour with this method

in exchange for highly sophisticated, yet questionable, algorithms

that all too often sink investment programmes. One must embrace

the irrefutable law of supply and demand and nothing else to un-

derstand the simple price changes of stocks in world markets.

At DIF, people are no longer willing to believe in some version

of the myth that one’s portfolio can grow 15-20 percent a year with-

out risk. We endeavour to mitigate risk as much as possible by es-

tablishing a close relationship with the client. We educate and build

our client’s confidence, as he works with an investment professional

to construct a personal portfolio tailor-made to fit his expectations.

The client and investment professional will work together on making

good decisions and smart trades, and the client will be apprised of all

alerts and portfolio changes that may be of interest.

The day is rapidly approaching where the individual will

have to take greater responsibility for his own financial affairs. We

will help them learn to manage their own portfolios, watch their

investments, and remain calm during bear, bull, and sporadically

changing markets.

Dif Broker is an independant and privately owned registered

Broker company; www.difbroker.com

The Internet has fundamentallyreshaped international markets

53

World Finance | Mar - Apr 2010