Strategy Overview

The team trades a wide range of currency pairs, based on a discretionary global macro approach. They focus on the major G-20 currencies in our global macro approach and use a minimum target of 1:2 risk/reward (risk 1 to make 2).  Their global macro strategy is active across all time zones, market intelligence and insight being gained from a wide global network.

The influencing factors include fundamentals such as rates and policy, technical analysis, in particular Fibonacci levels and mean reversion analysis, weight of market and sentiment, e.g., CFTC commitment of traders report, and of course the human side of the business by just talking to the contacts to remain contemporary and discussing ideas and influential events.

The team trades major currencies and their main differentiators include:

• non-traditional currency pairings such as GBPAUD or NZDJPY, EURCAD – staying in the major currency bracket with plenty of liquidity but making the most of overextended or undervalued crosses as applicable
• intentional avoidance of algorithmic trading
• discretionary use of hard stop losses in line with risk/reward goals
• gaining time-zone specific advantages and understanding pricing nuances by talking to contacts in different geographic centers
• choosing whether to participate in higher volatility conditions (another reason we avoid algos)
• positive returns with minimal use of leverage and any drawdown is consistent with a positive risk/reward ratio, i.e. returning more in up months than they risk in down months

Strategy Overview

Nordic Alfa utilises a discretionary holistic view on the markets. This strategy identifies technical set-ups on a variety of time-frames across all major currency pairs and commodities. The strategy was tested in a live three-month competition in 2016 and 2018 where it was ranked 2nd place and 1st place respectively on a ROI basis.

Nordic Alfa stands out due to its ability to detect a key trend change at its early stages, therefore providing the opportunity to maximize profits with a fixed risk factor. Furthermore, the risk-management component of the strategy excels in riding the subsequent new trend and capturing 4-7% moves.

It is important to note that the trading team does rely completely on technical factors when determining trades of interest, they will use other factors such as market sentiment and fundamental analysis when determining the risk allocation for each trade idea.

The leader of the trading team has a background in corporate banking and has been developing trading strategies for the last 10 years.