fxKnight

What is your name and position?  
Andrei Knight, Sr. Currency Strategist, fxKnight.com

What is your professional background?  
I have been involved in the financial markets for about 12 years, the last 5 of them focused in forex and futures.  I have worked with Deutsche Bank, FXCM, UBS, Tower Asset Management (named by Bloomberg as top asset manager), Clifford Associates (investment counselors since 1915, officially acknowledged as the oldest in the United States), and several other high profile firms specializing in investment and wealth management for musical artists, sports celebrities, and other ultra high net worth individuals and trusts.

Can you briefly highlight for your involvement with the foreign exchange market?   
In addition to trading my fund full time, I coach both professional traders and individual investors.  I write articles and analysis for BabyPips, DailyFX, FXStreet, and the International Business Times, and my new book, "Trading Forex for a Living", is coming next summer from Harriman House.  I've presented seminars and workshops all over the world at events such as IX Investor, the Energy Forum, and the World Money Show, and am honored to be invited to this year's International Traders Conference as their keynote speaker.

Could you please describe the services your company offers for the Forex market?  
We provide free tools and strategies for professional traders and individual investors (including live chat, strategy forums, training videos, worldwide market news, and streaming ForexTV).  We also have a Pro service, where people learn to improve their trading through a combination of training videos and live sessions where we watch the markets together.  We hold two sessions each trading day, so someone should be able to attend one regardless of the time zone where they live (there is also a record feature).  In addition, we have partnerships with several of the leading banks and brokers, and do our best to find one which matches each trader's individual needs and preferences.  We can also provide discounts on many popular trading books, software and services.

Who is your target audience?  
Anyone who is serious about improving their trading results, consistency, and confidence.  The reason we call it the Pro group is because you can still approach your trading with the mindset, discipline and dedication of a professional, even if you're trading from home in your underwear.  We have members who are professional fund managers, and we also have members who are complete beginners.  The great thing is that it is a safe environment where everyone supports one another and shares insights and ideas.

Who are your main competitors in the Forex Education market?  
Well, some of the other well-known educators out there include FX Bootcamp and Online Trading Academy, but I'm not sure we would call them "competitors".  In the end we all share the same mission - to help people succeed.  In fact, it is not uncommon for students to come to us from one of these other services, or for us to send someone there - we believe in exposing yourself to multiple viewpoints, so you can have a well-rounded approach to your trading, and eventually find your own niche and style.  Many people think the holy grail is one single system, which beats all others, and that's just not true.  There are many systems, and many ways to trade.  The key is making the system fit YOU, and your way of doing things.

What are the main advantages you have over your competitors?  
I think what really sets us apart (and I mean my whole staff, not just myself) is that we take a real and personal interest in our students and their success.  We care.  We ask them each day how they're doing, whether they're winning or losing.  If they're winning, the whole group celebrates together.  If they're losing, we take a look at their charts to try and figure out why.  The feedback we've been getting from our students has been really incredible: http://www.fx-knight.com/reviews.html

What are your personal thoughts on how the financial crisis is affecting the Forex market?  
Well, it's created some really awesome trades!  :)

Sometimes I feel a bit bad... every time you turn on the news, you hear terrible stories from all over the world about how the economy has affected people.  80% of hedge funds are losing money - the ones which are still in business, that is.  Meanwhile many of our Pro traders had a record year last year, and it looks like they'll set even higher records this year.  Volatility is not a bad thing - if you know what to do with it.  And we also try to make a positive impact with the money we win, by supporting charities and causes we really care about.

On the down side, all the panic is leading to all sorts of new regulation.  And when people panic, they don't always think things through before acting.  Take the no hedging rule in the US, for example - and now they are talking about doing away with pending orders.  At the height of the crisis, they suspended short selling - yet the markets fell even further afterwards, proving speculators were not the cause.  The new regulations are simply forcing investors to put their money into offshore brokers and firms - at a time when the US should be focusing on stimulating investment rather than driving it away.

Same thing with all the bail-outs... they are taking tax-payer money and using it to bail out big multi-national corporations, which will then use that money to take their jobs and tax obligations overseas.  For the same price as one bank, you could probably bail out several thousand corner stores.  The difference is that the corner store hires people from the neighborhood, who will then spend their salaries in other nearby stores.  I feel we are propping up a failing system and institutions, instead of looking into better and more efficient alternatives to replace them with.  That's not the change we voted for.

What else do you offer?  
I think probably the best part of fxKnight.com is the community of traders we've built up.  I've had the privilege of meeting some really amazing people over the years we've been online.  They're a wonderful group of people who are committed to improving themselves, and also helping others.  But don't take my word for it... stop by our forum and chat room sometime, and see for yourself!

Thank you very much for your time.