FX MANAGERS
both by the profit potential, and by the novelty and simplicity of
the investment vehicle. interned there again the I next
summer, then got a job at FX Concepts after
graduating
college. My first job was in the back office but I got transferred to the trading desk, and then spent several years as a trader. But the systematic element was what really appealed to me – searching for exploitable patterns in data and employing an algorithm to capture them. By the mid 1990’s I was primarily doing systematic research, and in 1997 started work on a fully systematic strategy that invested in both EM and DM currencies. FX Concepts launched a standalone investment vehicle based on my work in 1998, by scrounging $10 million from a few investment banks (this was before the Volcker rule). The program did ok, but several big advancements in model technology in 2000 led us to reboot the program in 2001 under the name “Global Currency Program,” or GCP. Jeff Weiser (my partner, the W in ROW) was assigned to the program as Portfolio Manager. We have been working together ever since. 6 years
later, FX Concepts was
running $14 billion, more than half of it on GCP.
FXTM What do you particularly like
about your job?
RG Discovering something new, implementing it, and watching it work in real time.
FXTM In which way is trading currencies different from trading other financial instruments ?
RG Currencies are unlike any other financial instrument in that they have no intrinsic value.
FX
and eventually we came to the realization that we could really do this – start our own company. We
got the unwinding process They
are a reflection of the faith and credit of the issuing country… and that brings in all sorts of behavioral finance issues such as what we are seeing right now with the RUB.
Countries in
need of external financing must consider their currency when setting interest rate policy – this is where the “Carry” beta comes from.
FXTM When and how was the company born?
RG Jeff and I had kicked around the idea of starting our own company for many years. Our vision was a small, quant-focused, research- first firm with discretionary input only on execution and risk management. Over the years, the discussions got more serious…
started in early-mid 2009, and by July 2010 we were free and clear to start ROW. Our first phone call was to Debra Oaks, a 20 year veteran of FX Concepts who had been instrumental to their early success. On day 1 it was me, Jeff, Debra, and 2 interns from the UCLA MFE department, who had to bring their own laptops to work because we did not have computers
for them. One of
those interns, Seng Ung, is now part of our research group.
FXTM How is the company structured today in terms of headcounts and offices?
RG ROW is 8 people total, with our headquarters in Newport Beach, CA, and a branch office in New York City.
FXTM What do you consider as being the key positions in an FX Management company?
RG Research and risk management.
FXTM Which authorities regulate the company?
FX TRADER MAGAZINE April - June 2014 71
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