Local investor education must be a priority asMENA financial markets soar

Leading financial educator warns that growing local retail investor interest in MENA financial markets must be supported bygreater financial education

Dubai, 24 September 2014: Tradepedia, an independent, pioneering trading education provider, founded by trading guru Avramis Despotis,today announced the opening of its MENA headquarters in Dubai International Financial Center in Dubai, UAE, in response to the abundant growth of the MENA region’s financial markets.The UAE’s joining in 2014 of the MSCI Emerging Market Index has boosted investor confidence and driven up volumes of foreign investment.

As Middle East markets continue to evolve, with UAE’s GDP expected to rise above 5% in 2014 and KSA lauded as one of the world’s ten fastest growing economies, they will become more complex and volatile. These conditions offer lucrative opportunities for canny and experienced investors, but also major pitfalls for new investors.

Tradepedia Founderand trading guru, Avramis Despotis, explained, “The upside of a fast-growing financial market is the opportunity to make money. The downside is an increased risk for unwitting investors, and these conditions are attracting a huge number of smaller local retail investors who do not yet have the acumen to manage the uncertainties that the market poses…and they risk everything.

“Investors need a trading strategy, based upon basicfinancial education and solid data. The importance of understanding technical analysis and acting upon it and having the right attitude and risk control are allparamount to developing the confidence needed to succeed.”

Despotis is an expert instructor in technical analysis, risk management and behavioural finance and has mentored over 20,000 private and institutional traders. His technical analysis reports and signals are sought after by clients and stock brokers across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Despotis is a Certified Financial Technician from the International Federation of Technical Analysts, a member of the British Society of Technical Analysts and is certified by CySEC for Portfolio Management and Own Account Trading. He holds a BSc. in Economics from the University College London and an MSc. in Finance and Banking from the Athens University of Economics & Business (AUEB).

The growth of MENA financial markets and listed stocks is partly attributable to regional governments’desire to diversify away from traditional petroleum-based economies. DIFC’s status as the world’s fastest growing financial centre is testament to the UAE’s success in achieving this aimand it is the natural location for Tradepedia, which has trained more than 20,000 individuals to trade to date and aims to become the leading provider of independent financial education in the world.

Despotis added,“With trading volumes of over 12 million contracts in a 10 month period, the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) is emerging as one of the fastest growing exchanges in the world. On the other side of the coin, however, the UAE market is experiencing fluctuation and needs to be watched carefully by investors until the end of 2014 to predict how it will behave. Next door, the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in particular is a financial market to watch, and I predict the all-share index could reach 13,000 by early 2015 and possibly 15,000 by early 2016, with a liquidity of possibly 200 billion.”

Tradepedia’s new office is located at Emirates Financial Towers in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and now serves as the company’s licensed regional headquarters and seeks to bolster Tradepedia’s presence and offering in the region.