The company’s young founders, Michael Walker and Selwyn Loekman, sat down with Brenda Ward to talk about their impressive past and why their future is looking just as exciting.

Can you give us a quick overview of BlackBull Markets and what you do?

Walker: BlackBull Markets is a brokerage allowing investors to trade in foreign exchange, commodities and CFDs (contracts for difference). We provide access to these markets for clients who want to diversify their portfolio after outgrowing their traditional investing platforms.

In just seven years, we’ve made huge inroads into the industry and experienced a breath-taking rate of growth.

Even so, we are always pursuing opportunities to expand our offerings and upgrade our products. For example, we expect to add several new exciting instruments to our platform in the next few months.

Why have you been successful in disrupting the industry?

Walker: It’s a combination of factors. We easily compete on spread prices, but it is our other characteristics that makes us unique and help BlackBull Markets to stand out from the crowd.

The company was started with the intention of bringing institutional conditions to retail traders. This means we use technology that ensures the fastest execution times possible, and we personalise the customer service experience. We think this is what separates BlackBull Markets from our competition, and why we’ve been so successful in attracting a significant number of traders over to our platform.

What are you most excited about this year?

Walker: Building our presence in New Zealand. While we’ve always been headquartered here, our customer base is primarily international. This year, we’re making a concerted push to promote the benefits we offer Kiwi traders. Since getting our Derivatives Issuer’s license from the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), we’ve had an ambition to become the go-to brokerage for Kiwi traders.

We’ll soon start hosting regular seminars as a way to connect with traders of all skill levels. We intend to show how and why trading in forex, commodities, and CFDs can complement an investor’s portfolio.

What misconceptions do people currently hold about trading?

Loekman: I think the most common misconception we hear from investors is that trading is an exceedingly complicated exercise. A mentor once told me that the fundamentals of anything can be learnt in 48 hours. This is an ethos that I believe applies to trading. Once you understand the fundamentals, you have the tools to be successful and upskill at will.

There’ll always be new things to learn with investing and trading. If an investor understands how to use platforms like Sharesies or Hatch, then they’ll find our platform intuitive and approachable. Not to mention, we have an obsessive focus on customer service, so our dedicated account managers are there to help.

To experience BlackBull Markets, sign up for a free demo account. https://blackbullmarkets.com/e...