Keen response to Investor Clinic

An Investor Clinic was organised by Bank of Valletta and the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry with the collaboration of Saxo Bank for the members of the Chamber. Participants were addressed by Frank V. Farrugia, president of the Chamber and Kenneth Farrugia, Chief Business Development Officer (Investment) at Bank of Valletta.

Mr Farrugia said in his welcome address: “The Chamber and the bank are organising a number of educational clinics to equip the local business community with the financial knowledge required to continue to operate with success in an increasingly globalised, uncertain economy in a manner that mitigates risk and improves profitability.”

The keynote speech was delivered Christopher Dembik, Head of Macro Analysis at Saxo Bank. Mr Dembik, who is often quoted internationally by influential business and financial media said, “It is the first time over the past three years that I am so optimistic about the global economy and, especially, about the fate of the euro area.” He went on to give an overview of the macro-environment and trends being experienced by the markets and consequently the possible impacts these may have on the investor.

Participants were then given a live demo of the bank’s online trading platform by Pierre Martin, Senior Sales Trader at Saxo Markets. The e-Trader+ powered by Saxo Bank is BOV’s online trading platform launched in December 2015. Using the platform for illustration, Mr Martin explained the importance that the investor has access to real-time market information of the prices of securities. He also explained that one can use the live demo for a free trial period of 20 days. This demo is eas- ily accessible from the bank’s website by following the link – https://www.stockbroking.com .mt/ETraderLogin.htm

Thanking the speakers for their valuable input and the Chamber for its cooperation in hosting and organising the event, Kenneth Farrugia highlighted the fact that, “At Bank of Valletta, we feel it is our responsibility to invest in organising these sessions which are insightful and enriching to the participants.” Referring to the bank’s partnership with Saxo Bank, Mr Farrugia said that this partnership enables the bank to fast-track the provision of online solutions, which are cutting-edge but concurrently intuitive and userfriendly on the local market. “Harnessing technology to provide seamless access to investment services is a prerogative for the bank, and a key deliverable in ensuring that the bank remains at the forefront of the digitalisation era we are living in. This is true for both mainstream solutions as well as more niche services, such as the online trading platform, which is targeted specifically at active investors.”