Helping Clients Unlock Real Value to Stay Ahead in the FX Global Markets
Key Takeaways:
- Delivering real value to clients means offering solutions specific to their needs
- Being close to clients and offering a flexible approach is in StoneX’s DNA
- StoneX Pro earns trust from clients by consistently putting them first and supporting their success
In his recent cover interview in e-Forex, Gerard Melia, Head of Sales at StoneX Pro, offered insights into his experience, and explained how listening to what clients want is a major force is driving StoneX Pro’s innovation.
Melia’s day-to-day duties revolve around sales and marketing for StoneX Pro, expanding their eFX base and driving revenue growth. As a global franchise, Melia oversees operations in the US, the Americas, the APAC region, and EMEA. “Much of my time is spent understanding the unique requirements of each region and collaborating with the local teams to support their growth trajectory,” said Melia. In this way, he and his team are building an effective global strategy that drives results but remains adaptable to local needs.
What helps set StoneX Pro apart from competitors in the FX space is that they allow access to the global FX market in a simple and turnkey account structure. “This includes institutional-grade liquidity across 40+ currencies, including emerging markets: spot FX, forwards, swaps, NDFs, options, and deliverable FX in 17 currencies,” Melia said.
This wide-ranging reach positions StoneX Pro uniquely in the FX markets. “Thanks to our scale and our ability to offer professionally managed liquidity, StoneX Pro is able deliver a competitively priced institutional FX offering.”
Many firms are choosing to leverage the expertise and advanced technology of StoneX Pro to reduce overheads and complexity, drawn by existing relationships with StoneX’s Metals, Commodities and Securities businesses, where extending FX coverage is a seamless and logical progression. For many of these clients, FX is an essential but secondary component of their operations, so the ability to access FX services through an established partnership – with minimal additional financial investment – is highly valuable.
Instead of focusing on HFT and Prime of Prime, where it has been increasingly challenging to add meaningful value, Melia points out that StoneX Pro instead focuses on financial firms where FX isn’t their sole or primary focus. These clients see significant value in outsourcing their FX liquidity needs and technology to a partner like StoneX, with a regulatory framework, financial stability, and expertise. “Our Fintech clients, in particular, appreciate the opportunity to focus on their core competencies while trusting StoneX Pro to invest in the liquidity and technology they need to support their businesses,” said Melia. “We help them achieve their goals while allowing them to scale and innovate.”
Melia was asked how StoneX Pro has managed to build trust among participants in the industry, and his answer is what has kept StoneX in business for 100 years: “Trust is earned by consistently putting our clients first and supporting their success,” he said. Achieving this requires having dedicated people in the right roles, working with expertise. “I’ve been continually impressed by the caliber of my colleagues,” Melia said, “and their unwavering commitment to meeting and exceeding client expectations. The quality of our people is our secret sauce.”
A Culture of Service
“Being close to clients and offering a flexible approach is in StoneX’s DNA,” said Melia. This allows StoneX Pro to adapt to diverse needs of clients and offer tailored solutions that align with their business models and strategies. Cost efficiency is also a major consideration. StoneX Pro ensures their pricing is competitive, but that doesn’t mean being the cheapest. Instead, Melia said, “It’s about delivering real value to our clients by focusing on solutions that address their specific need and operational challenges.” Having this value-oriented approach helps ensure StoneX Pro provides the right balance of competitive pricing and high-quality service.
To stay current with technological demands, StoneX Pro staffs a top-tier in-house IT department responsible for maintaining FX platforms and proprietary systems. When necessary, Melia said his team collaborates with external vendors for best-in-class technology solutions that offer advantages over internal development. Even with internal and external teams for support, Melia commented, “The most critical component of our technology strategy is listening to our clients. Their feedback frequently shapes our direction, particularly in fast-evolving areas of the business.” Again, it’s this client-focused approach that allows StoneX Pro to remain aligned with the market and ready to adapt emerging trends.
One such trend is institutions and corporates moving away from the traditional bank model and looking for solutions that bridge the gap between traditional financial systems and the evolving non-bank ecosystem. Melia also hinted at an exciting new initiative coming from StoneX Pro later this year, promising to support corporate hedge clients.
A key driver for Stone Pro’s growth is the increasing reliance on FIAT currency by crypto brokers and digital asset firms. While cryptocurrencies often dominate the headlines, FIAT currencies represent the essential backbone of these ecosystems. Cryptocurrencies have driven an increase in demand for deliverable FX services to deliver seamless access to traditional currencies to manage their operations. With StoneX as their parent company, their expertise in curating liquidity and delivering reliable, efficient FX solutions position StoneX Pro to meet this demand and support the unique needs of this rapidly growing segment.
Read the full story here.
See why StoneX is a partner of choice
