Six-figure commission cheques and a lifestyle to match. A fast-paced career where you control your own earnings. The daily buzz of intense competition. An in-depth understanding of global current affairs. Given the perks of a successful career in brokerage, it’s little surprise that so many people are drawn to the industry.

It’s even less surprise that they are drawn to the UAE, given the strength of our markets. Around USD 121m was traded in equities on Nasdaq Dubai in January this year, which was 5% higher than the previous month. Volume was 6% higher too. The FTSE Nasdaq Dubai UAE 20 index ended January 2017 up 1.5% from December.

So the UAE financial market is in a good place – and that’s a double-edged sword for aspiring brokers. On the one hand, where else would you want to be? On the other, the landscape is incredibly competitive. The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) lists over 50 licensed brokerage firms operating across Nasdaq Dubai and DFM. If you aspire to break into the industry and achieve exceptional success, you need to be exceptional.

If you are ready to hustle, here are the six principles you should know.

1. It’s an initiation by fire: There is a lot to learn in your first months as a junior broker. You’ll be taught brokering techniques and learn the relevant financial products. You’ll start to become more adept at handling difficult situations, like the conflict of interest when one client wants to sell an underline at the highest possible rate next to another who wants to buy at the lowest possible. You will be adapting to a stressful working environment and learning to follow many different conversations simultaneously. You will start building your awareness of the market and will learn to spot shifts almost before they happen. Good brokers seem to have a sixth sense, because market behaviour is not black and white. In ‘Trading for a Living’, legendary New York trader Dr. Alexander Elder writes: ‘Yesterday’s rigid rules work poorly today and will probably stop working tomorrow. A competent trader can adjust his methods when he detects trouble.’

You’ll start to become more adept at handling difficult situations, like the conflict of interest when one client wants to sell an underline at the highest possible rate next to another who wants to buy at the lowest possible.

Your first six months is where you lay the foundations for your future success. Your manager should be helping you to optimise your line list of clients so your business pipeline looks positive, and you’ll need to deliver beyond expectation to build your reputation. Forget holidays in these first months. You’ll need to be more on the ball now than at any other point in your career. If you have done your job well you will ultimately develop a loyal client base. To excel in brokerage you must create sustainable, steady growth over time, which relies on long-term relationships. This process starts during your initiation, so don’t drop the ball.

2. The hours are long, very long: UAE labour laws state that ‘the maximum prescribed working hours for an adult employee is eight hours per day’ but the key word here is ‘prescribed’. You won’t be forced to work longer hours but you’re unlikely to work 9-5 if you’re ambitious. Commission rests on personal turnover so there is a big incentive to work hard. As a broker, you have complete control over your own success, but that means you can’t shy away from hard work. Your mentality should be to arrive before your first client and leave after the last, so you’re always available when called upon. In practice, this normally means arriving at least one hour before markets open and staying one hour or more after they close. Commitment is a large part of what it takes to be successful here.

Brokerage can be glamorous but there are two sides to the coin. Yes, you can earn exceptional money. Yes, you can gain phenomenal respect. Yes, you can build an incredible lifestyle. But those things don’t come without hard graft. Forget rocking into the office at 9.30am or long brunches with clients. Forget the Wolf of Wall Street montage too. If you’re serious about building a successful brokerage career, you should know what you’re getting into. An employer would rather have an empty chair than a chair filled with someone who doesn’t understand the realities of life as a broker.

3. Be there or go nowhere: This is a trust-based industry. Other things are vital too – a deep understanding of risk, for instance – but your success correlates to the strength of the relationships you build. Trust is integral. You can be knowledgeable and likeable but if people don’t trust you, they won’t work with you. World-renowned salesman and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar puts it this way: ‘If people like you, they will listen to you but if they trust you, they will buy from you.’

To build trust, it’s widely agreed that consistency is critical. For instance, an influential paper by Paul Dunn, a professor of business ethics at the Goodman School of Business at Brock University in Canada, states that consistency is the most important factor in forming ‘cognitive-based trust’, considered the dominant trust mechanism in business. As a financial broker, this means you must consistently be available when you’re needed. Clients often call, text or WhatsApp for updates on the market – and they need to know that you’ll be there, promptly and knowledgably, every time.

As a financial broker, you must consistently be available when you’re needed. Clients often call, text or WhatsApp for updates on the market.

Nothing can destroy your business more quickly than an unanswered phone or neglected email. You can’t afford to let your clients down, even once, because you will destroy their trust and quickly gain a reputation for being inaccessible and unreliable. A fantastic broker is a fantastic service provider. The best way to be that is to always be available and on top of your game.

4. The news is your lifeblood: You won’t succeed as a financial broker without an eagle eye for opportunity and you can’t have that without a deep understanding of the market. Don’t underestimate the need for exceptional general knowledge as well as financial knowledge. The best brokers have a fantastic understanding of global news, because they know everything is connected. Success means being at the front of the curve when a new opportunity arises. You won’t spot the first tentative signs of market change unless you’re aware of the wider political or economic situation. As Dr. Elder writes, ‘Big money did not grow big by being stupid. Big traders tend to be more knowledgeable and successful than average – otherwise they stop being big traders.’

You should be reading The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Islamic Business & Finance, Banking & Business Review and so on – and you should follow broader world news. If you don’t cultivate a proactive interest in global affairs, you will always be a follower instead of a leader. It’s the leaders who are the most successful financial brokers.

5. Egos must be left at the door: Brokerage is extremely fast-paced, so tensions fly high. People who are drawn to a career here tend to have strong personalities, so you’ve got a real melting pot, which can quickly become a pressure cooker. If you want to be a successful broker, you must rise above petty squabbles. A thick skin will serve you well. Pressured colleagues might not always be as diplomatic as they could be, and ruffled feathers tend to come with the territory. It’s important that you’re able to accept such moments for what they are and nothing more; a bruised ego will do nothing for your career. Empathy is an important trait – understanding that we’re all human and we’re all learning, and sometimes there are more important things than diplomacy.

Pressured colleagues might not always be as diplomatic as they could be, and ruffled feathers tend to come with the territory.

6. This is no place for niceties: If you’re bothered by occasional harsh words or a lack of pleasantries, perhaps you would be better off pursuing a different career. Brokerage is no life for faint hearts. That’s not to say that brokers are unpleasant – far from it. Some fantastic bonds are forged in the white heat of the brokerage environment and it is a place where both men and women can thrive, provided they have the resilience, raw ambition, ruthless focus and relentless drive to succeed.

Show weakness, though, and you can expect no mercy. Be ready to fight fire with fire, go all out for your goals and expect no freebies. As Dr. Elder points out most unequivocally, ‘The market is not your mother. It consists of tough men and women who look for ways to take money away from you instead of pouring milk into your mouth.’

If that sounds exciting to you rather than daunting, you might just make a great UAE financial broker.

 

About the author: Marco Saviozzi, CEO
Marco attained an MBA in Finance from the IEMI, Genève, before starting his career in corporate sales at Xerox. He would eventually move on to French firm Viel (now Tradition), before being headhunted by prestigious London firm ICAP, where he was brought in as head of the French Franc IRS Desk. He quickly rose to become a part of the management committee as Co-Head of the Euro Desk, and later moved to the New York office to head up the Equity Derivatives team. After 14 years at ICAP, in 2007, he opened Newedge – a Calyon / Societe Generale brokerage arm in Dubai. Two years later he would go on to form GMG as a co-founder with several past colleagues. When he is not facilitating trades on behalf of clients, Marco can be found on the golf course or watching his favourites sports – Formula 1 and horse racing.