his story appeared in our August 2024 issue, featuring the Top 100 CEOs in the Middle East ranking, as well as the Global Meets Local list.

It’s a bright summer’s evening in the U.K. in June, and Talal Al Ajmi, Founder and CEO of online broker VI Markets, is sitting under a tree in a park, taking a break from planning for his graduation ceremony. Having just completed his master’s degree in financial services management from the University of Salford, the CEO is discussing his thoughts on the importance of educating investors. “Education is the most important input for a successful trader,” says the Kuwait-based entrepreneur.

As he speaks, he says that VI Markets is simultaneously conducting seminars to teach people about financial markets in its Kuwait and Dubai offices, with training scheduled in Egypt and AlAin the next day. “Before we established VI Markets, the reputation of FX and assets trading was very bad in the region, but now we increase awareness and teach everyone about the market,” Al Ajmi explains. “Every day we’re doing seminars for a minimum of 200 and 250 people, and all the courses that we do are free.”

Founded more than 14 years ago, VI Markets is an online brokerage that enables its clients to trade financial assets and derivatives, including forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energy, equities, futures, and cryptocurrencies. The company today has offices in London, Dubai, Kuwait City, Cairo, and Muscat.

With an eye on future growth, the CEO believes that education is key to individuals making money from financial markets, which in turn helps him grow his business. Before VI Markets’ clients start funding their accounts, they undergo a 10-day seminar to teach them the basics. They are then taught strategies like fundamental and technical analysis and risk management, tested, and given scores on various aspects of their trading skills. Once they’ve learned the right tools and skills, they begin to trade with real money.

But an introduction to financial education starts much younger. Last year, VI Markets partnered with KidZania in Kuwait to introduce investment and trading to kids through play. KidZania City in Kuwait City is a 7,000-square-meter scaled-down city, complete with vehicles, pavements, buildings, and workplaces that allow children to role-play real-life activities. The VI Markets Financial Trading Hub was inaugurated in KidZania City, Kuwait, in June 2023. “At KidZania, it is our constant endeavor to partner with brands that provide opportunities for children to learn through unique, real-life-like role-plays, to positively impact society and the environment they live in,” said Steven Putzeys, KidZania City Business Director, in a statement at the time.

Financial literacy is more than just a route to higher levels of financial inclusion. Not having an understanding of the compounding effects of interest rates while having increased access to borrowing can lead to decision-making that leaves individuals overburdened with debt. According to a report by the Kuwait Institute of Banking Studies, financial literacy in the GCC is better than the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries, but it is still lagging behind major economies such as Canada, France, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. Kuwait performs well relative to other GCC nations and the world, with large financial institutions contributing towards financial literacy, including through the National Bank of Kuwait’s Bankee program and Kuwait Finance House’s “Diraya” campaign. “Financial literacy is the cornerstone of a secure financial future, encompassing essential skills like budgeting, investing, understanding credit, and retirement planning,” says Alok Kumar, Cofounder and CEO of fintech platform Zywa. “In the Middle East, rising household debt is a critical issue, particularly in the UAE, where many young adults are caught in debt traps. By equipping young people with financial education, we can empower them to make informed decisions and avoid these pitfalls.”

Al Ajmi himself first learned about online trading in 2003, while at university in Jordan studying IT. After graduating, he returned home to Kuwait and began his career managing a couple of small family businesses with his cousins and brothers. Eventually, he joined a brokerage company and became a branch manager. It was there he realized that there was a financial education gap and started offering free seminars for clients in the office. However, he came up against some challenges. “To be honest, it was very hard to tell the owners and the board members in the brokerage that I wanted to invest in education and seminars. They had another marketing channel they focused on and that was it,” he remembers.

Al Ajmi established VI Markets in 2010 in Kuwait City by partnering with online trading broker One Financial Markets. In 2019, One Financial Markets was acquired by Axi Financial Services (UK) Ltd, and in 2023, Al Ajmi signed an exclusive partnership with Axi to represent them in MENA, providing investors in the Middle East with a tailored online trading service. Axi Financial Services (UK) Ltd is registered in England and regulated by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. As an international broker, Axi has a presence in over 100 countries and is used by traders, trading businesses, banks, and financial organizations to execute transactions on the world’s financial markets. As an “introducer” to AxiTrader Ltd, which trades under the name One Financial Markets, VI Markets is able to use Axi’s technology to enable its investors to trade forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energies, equities, cryptocurrencies, and futures.

Combining his passion for education with technology, Al Ajmi has leveraged social media to attract clients in the Middle East by sharing his daily trades and educating followers on how to manage their portfolios. Today, he has over 120,000 followers on Instagram. He says the company had over 130,000 clients as of June 2024, with GCC-based clients contributing over 70% of revenues, while the other 30% comes from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Türkiye. Foreign exchange (Forex) trading contributes the most towards revenues followed by equities and cryptocurrencies.

The global Forex market is the largest financial market in the world by trading volume. While under light regulatory oversight in most countries, the structure and operation of the market have been driven by commercial interests and the market participants’ needs. Forex trading for financial motives—such as investments in foreign-denominated securities—far exceeds the transaction volume related to international trade.

In the Middle East, the financial brokerage sector is a competitive space, with several international and regional brokers, as well as large financial institutions, competing for market share. Several banks in the region have broking divisions, such as Emirates NBD Securities in the U.A.E. and SNB Capital in Saudi Arabia, and standalone brokers like Equiti, CFI Financial Markets, and Sarwa are also growing. The Middle East’s online trading industry is expected to reach $1 trillion in value by 2025, according to the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

As VI Markets has grown, it’s also expanded its services. For example, In 2016, the company also established the Yasmeen forum, which is exclusively for women wanting to get into trading. Knowing that women were equally keen to begin trading but noticing they were much shyer to open up during workshops, Al Ajmi designed the forum to offer tailored educational services and personal support. According to the CEO, VI Markets now has over 15,000 female traders thanks to this training program.

In 2021, it introduced “copy trading,” which, as the name suggests, allows followers—known as “copiers”—to replicate trades placed by other, often more experienced, traders—known as “signals”—in real-time. To do this, traders first sign up with VI Markets and link their accounts to the copy trading app. As the signals trade and build a track record, their performance data, including monthly returns and profitability, can be monitored through the app. Copiers can then select which signals to follow. Once a copier connects to a signal, every transaction executed by the signal is automatically replicated in the accounts of their copiers, proportionally adjusting for factors like available funds and risk preference.

More recently, in May 2023, VI Markets and Axi Financial Services launched the Axi Select program, which provides advanced trading tools and educational content and offers funding to traders based on their “edge score,” which evaluates their skill, risk management, consistency, and experience.

Looking ahead to the next couple of years, while he continues to focus on delivering education, Al Ajmi says he also has plans to invest in advanced trading technologies and platforms to be able to offer solutions that enhance trading efficiency, security, and accessibility for clients. “I aspire to expand VI Markets to become one of the leading global companies in online trading and to inspire new investors as well,” he concludes.

By Jason Lasrado - 2024

VI Markets are proud to provide investors the opportunity to trade forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energies, bonds and futures.

Kuwait City, 7th June 2023: VI Markets partnered with One Financial Markets to provide the investors in Kuwait and Middle East a tailored online trading service. With this partnership, VI Markets are proud to provide investors the opportunity to trade forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energies, bonds and futures.

In keeping with this ideology, Talal AlAjmi, CEO and founder of VI Markets, said this partnership certainly provides kids with the role-playing experience to empower them to the world of financial investment, through hands-on engagement and introducing them to leading world financial markets.

He elaborated on VI Markets commitment to society – “we believe kids are the face of the future and introducing them to different types of investment will allow them to adapt to the real world”.

Mr. Andrew Henderson, One Financial Markets Regional Head – Middle East and Africa, complimented the initiative of the partnership and stated that today’s kids are technologically advanced and the activity brings out the true experience of getting them to take the first step.

The event marked the traditional “Handing over KidZania City Key” by business Director Steven Putzeys, along with a welcome dance by KidZania’s RightZKeepers – Urbano and Bekha. This was followed by an extensive walk around the city and the opening of the VI Markets Financial Trading Hub establishment for the first time.

Steven Putzeys iterated – “At KidZania, it is our constant endeavor to partner with brands that provide opportunities for children to learn through unique, real-life like role-plays, to positively impact society and the environment they live in. The various activities in KidZania aid physical intellectual growth, contribute to the development of skills and attitudes, stimulate creative thinking and boost self-esteem and self-confidence levels.”

The scaled-down city replicates the real world in a safe and self-contained 7,000 square meter facility. Children can choose from 78 engaging establishments and role-play 100 exciting roles – and just like in the real world, they can earn kidZos, KidZania’s currency, to either spend or save. KidZania operates like a real city complete with buildings, paved streets, vehicles, a functioning economy, and recognizable destinations in the form of “establishments” sponsored by Marketing Partners who represent leading multi-national, regional, and local brands.

By Staff Writer- 2023

As technology continues to advance, Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets, explains how specific technological innovations including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are going to steadily shift the way we trade and interact with currencies in the metaverse.

The potential benefits of leveraging augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in the metaverse and its implications

In particular, trading is an ideal use case for these evolving paradigms where rich data sets and complex products provide opportunities to leverage technology, such as augmented reality to support daily business, says Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets.

He adds: “The benefits of leveraging augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in the metaverse include the ability to generate opportunities through leading-edge technology and the reduction of operating costs.

“Specifically, within trading, key use cases are driven by AR/VR’s abilities to bolster an unconstrained environment to visualise data, for example as providing a medium to easily recognise changes and patterns; collaborate with clients and interact with counterparties, all in a dynamic and real-time system.”

The potential benefits from leveraging AR/VR, as described above, can reduce the costs to an overall business infrastructure by eliminating multiple monitors, prime real estate, advanced wiring, systematic cooling, and so on.

As market data providers evolve their products, Al Ajmi points out that it will be important for them to build application programming interfaces (APIs) that are tailored for consuming their data via different AR/VR solutions. “This includes providing value-add services that support analysing through research and market data in a seamless manner,” he explains.

The metaverse economy and the transformation of forex trading through VR will be an immersive experience

According to Al Ajmi, the metaverse will allow traders to trade and will transform forex in a way where no borders, strict regulations, or trade barriers will stop anyone from any country from trading in the metaverse.

“The metaverse economy would be based on blockchain technology and related asset classes like NFTs and crypto,” he explains, and this means businesses should expect a future where they can set up their VR stores by buying property as NFTs and using crypto to price product catalogues.

Businesses can also use NFTs to sell and buy virtual assets in the metaverse. He elaborates: “Non-fungible tokens, often known as NFTs, are a type of digital asset that grants the buyer a type of ownership license for virtual goods. Digital artworks, GIFs, memes, and Tweets have all been sold as NFTs in the past.”

Because of this huge demand for high-value NFTs, Al Ajmi explains that businesses may find investment opportunities in the metaverse.

VI Markets is aligned with providing education to its clients, while the metaverse will provide VR-based learning to businesses and brokers

According to Al Ajmi, the main mission and vision of VI Markets is educating and spreading awareness about trading online with staff trained to provide customer service unparalleled elsewhere.

In this context, the metaverse, reveals Al Ajmi, could revolutionise training and skills development, radically compressing the time needed to develop and acquire new skills. “AI-enabled digital coaches could be on-hand to assist in employee training and with career advice.”

Meta-reality will alter customer interactions, one of the most significant aspects of a brokerage. To adapt to this shift moving forward, VI Markets might alter some customer interaction for some time. “However, I don’t think it will do that for long time as people will get used to the meta-world and acquire the skills of interaction required,” he says.

Key advantages to brokers trading in the metaverse

The benefits of trading in the metaverse, says Al Ajmi, include the ability to generate opportunities through leading-edge technology and the reduction of operating cost.
“Specifically, within trading, key use cases are driven by AR/VR’s abilities to boost an unconstrained environment to visualise data, for example, providing a medium to easily recognise changes and patterns; co-operate with clients and interact with counterparties, all in a dynamic and real-time system,” he says.

The future of trading in the metaverse

Currently, VI Markets offer Copy Trading, a unique, patented technology which automatically copies trading portfolio performance for individuals who want to link their accounts with a specific trader.

This new technology eases the process of managing one’s portfolio, and with Copy Trading, many traders can start joining the social trading revolution, and connect with other traders, discuss different strategies, copy or even mirror their trades.

Another unique offering by VI markets is One Connect app, which Al Ajmi points out handles it all in a safe and secure environment and keeps all your execution in one place whilst experiencing all the exceptional trading tools it offers.

In the future, Al Ajmi says that users will be exposed to a value creation platform which will allow users to optimise, upgrade and engage in real life investment activities in virtual spaces.

“They will have more opportunities to trade on a larger scale and use AI as form of an advantage to ease the time and the effort,” he says. “Also, the AI will mine huge amounts of data from exchanges and coin prices which may have been accumulated over a long period of time and analyse it to find complex patterns that the human being cannot find.”

VI Markets is walking in these footsteps and planning to have metaverse lands in the coming future.

ByJason Lasrado - 2022

Man vs Machine: How AI robots are taking over online trading.

Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets, shares his insights on how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are becoming a disruptive and prominent force in the online trading world.

When stock trading first emerged, transactions were carried out on active trading floors filled with brokers and traders, with the key tool driving the reasoning behind these trades being the human brain.

By utilising the pattern-spotting nature of the brain and sequential reasoning, traders communicated verbally to convey trading information, along with their intentions and acceptance of trades in the trading pit.

The services of the human floor trader are gradually becoming redundant as exchanges go virtual, paving the way for individual investors to participate in markets on an equal footing for the first time.

As online trading continues to evolve, Talal Al Ajmi, a young Kuwaiti entrepreneur and CEO and founder of Version International Markets (VI Markets), believes that algorithms and machine learning technologies are the upcoming game-changers for the industry and the new norm for the future.

Mimicking the human brain 

Traditionally, human traders would track the prices of stock and try recalling them, creating memories to form a pattern. AI can do the same task efficiently and can include more data points, mimicking a vital part of the human brain activated when trading.

Algorithmic trading, the most widely used form of AI in the financial industry, uses complex and advanced mathematical models to make transaction decisions on behalf of humans. Rules built into this model attempt to determine the optimal time to trade, with the least repercussions on stock prices.

AI systems operate by crunching through data, trying to find correlations, and teaching themselves how to approximate future outcomes. The process of AI systems repeatedly going through data and trying to learn from it and find insights is known as machine learning.

In other words, by effectively mirroring the approach and patterns of human traders, AI and machine learning are making trading more accessible to a greater number of people by decreasing dependency on human advisors.

“Many investors believe that most of the information presented at the market is not enough for them to take the decision of investing alone,” says Al Ajmi.

Retail investors are now increasingly using AI-driven investment platforms, which are promising them secure and stable returns, citing their cost-effectiveness, simplicity and accessibility.

Covid-19 impacts 

Over the past few years, the online trading world has been gradually moving towards being dominated by AI and machine learning technologies.

Of late, the coronavirus pandemic has greatly accelerated this transition, with retail investors finally beginning to unlock the full potential of these tools.

“I believe that Covid-19 has shown the world that technology is the only saviour,” adds Al Ajmi.

“It accelerated the development phase, in which most trading is being done remotely and without the need to be physically available. During Covid times, a lot of people have become more interested in trading because technology has eased the process of learning and entering the markets.”

Emerging technologies 

In terms of new and emerging technologies, Al Ajmi believes that the focus for the next five years will be on copy trading technology.

“Beginners will have the opportunity to learn from experienced traders and copy their trades from a well-developed app, that will allow people to meet, chat, discover, learn and more.”

The premise of copy trading is as simple as its name suggests, involving tracking and duplicating trades executed by other investors in the financial markets. Copy trading, also known as mirror trading or social trading, allows investors to automatically copy the trades of high-profile investors.

Al Ajmi says this technology will just cost a subscription fee or percentage fee set by the trader.

“Today, any trader who wishes to link his account with any investor can do so through copy trading. This new technology will provide the market with new investors and change the market movement along with its trends.”

The Kuwaiti entrepreneur adds that, while markets are still being swayed by people’s emotions, AI technologies are slowly evolving to be able to interpret these sentiments and patterns.

“The market changes every period; its movement and the method of liquidity in it, and even the strategy of people who trade in the market varies from period to period.”

When there is negative news, he adds, we see the trend shift towards selling, while positive news moves people to buy.

“Programming and the use of technology is based on reading these emotions and interpreting them. I think the behaviour of human traders will be reduced, but their behaviour will remain visible in the market.

“The use of AI and automated trading in the market will be a leap for every trader, as it will manage the risk levels.”

Filling the gap 

Al Ajmi hopes to soon allow VI Markets users to link their accounts with others for programmed copying, in addition to providing tech tools that analyse a client’s position through a report that focuses on their successful strategies.

“VI Markets possesses a huge market share in the Middle East, and most of our clients are asking for this kind of technology and want it launched as soon as possible. So, this [copy trading] is what we will be offering during August, in order to serve our clients with excellence.”

With a well-established presence throughout the region, VI Markets provides investors in Kuwait a tailored online trading service, partnered with One Financial Markets, which was established in London in 2007.

One Financial Markets is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offers global reach with local expertise through its wholly owned and affiliated offices across the Middle East, Europe, South America and Central and Southeast Asia.

Coupling knowledge sharing with the power of AI 

As he believes that anything is possible through education, Al Ajmi is a strong advocate for the untapped opportunities that knowledge sharing can unlock.

Speaking directly to his regional followers via his growing online platforms, Al Ajmi believes this connection serves as an effective means of spreading essential information around online trading.

With terrible advice and bad-faith actors widespread on social media, Al Ajmi decided to bypass traditional marketing channels and speak directly to the public, in a bid to help people make more informed decisions with investing their money online.

“With online webinars, we were able to provide the same quality and content to a bigger audience, being located in different parts of the world without worrying about all the Covid-19 restrictions. This allowed us to reach a huge number of clients and provide them with everything they needed.”

Al Ajmi also believes that the key to success in the world of online trading lies in empowering novice investors in the Middle East through financial education coupled with utilising AI and machine learning technologies.

“This technology will solve many problems and reduce many risks, but I think that the right decision for anyone thinking of investing is to have an understanding of the basics of trading before turning to using this technology only. This will educate those interested in investing and give them a better chance to manage their risks.”

Besides downloadable desktop programmes and smartphone apps for trading, the VI Markets site has a training academy that outlines, in accessible language and textbook detail, concepts such as CFD trading, forex, analysis tools, investor types and, perhaps most importantly, trading psychology.

Shift in investment priorities 

With the rise in robo-advisers, investment priorities are shifting as well, placing great value on more diverse investments. In the MENA region, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are slowly becoming a disruptive force, adding value to the investment sector.

An ETF is an exchange-listed investment fund that may consist stocks, bonds, commodities or other financial assets, which can be bought and sold throughout the trading day. Previously, investing in stock markets meant buying stocks, however ETFs combine the trading flexibility of a stock with the diversification and low costs of a mutual fund.

Investors can track a particular set of equities (stock ETFs); track the price of a commodity (commodity ETFs); invest in currencies (currency ETFs); or gain exposure to various types of bonds (bond ETFs), among other activities.

With the pandemic accelerating public interest in investing and ETFs offering exposure to a basket of stocks at a lower cost and reduced management fees, ETFs have elicited promising responses from first-time investors.

Robo-advisors and AI are playing a key role in this shift, given that they greatly invest in ETFs to give investors broad diversification with low underlying expenses. By selecting different types of ETFs, robo-advisors are helping manage investment returns and market risk with diversification.

Looking ahead

Al Ajmi predicts a slow and steady transition to automated trading, with the upcoming period being mainly focus on copy trade technology aided by human advisor expertise.

“The next three to five years will focus on using copy trading and utilising platforms that have more interactions between dealers in the markets. There will be more use for automated trading and growing reliance of programming on reading, implementing and dealing with data in the market.”

He reiterates that before fully integrating AI into the world of online trading, it is imperative to educate investors about the basics of trading and empowering them to be able to fully utilise these emerging technologies.

By ITP - 2021

Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets, shares his insights on how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are becoming a disruptive and prominent force in the online trading world.

When stock trading first emerged, transactions were carried out on active trading floors filled with brokers and traders, with the key tool driving the reasoning behind these trades being the human brain.

By utilising the pattern-spotting nature of the brain and sequential reasoning, traders communicated verbally to convey trading information, along with their intentions and acceptance of trades in the trading pit.

The services of the human floor trader are gradually becoming redundant as exchanges go virtual, paving the way for individual investors to participate in markets on an equal footing for the first time.

As online trading continues to evolve, Talal Al Ajmi, a young Kuwaiti entrepreneur and CEO and founder of Version International Markets (VI Markets), believes that algorithms and machine learning technologies are the upcoming game-changers for the industry and the new norm for the future.

Mimicking the human brain 

Traditionally, human traders would track the prices of stock and try recalling them, creating memories to form a pattern. AI can do the same task efficiently and can include more data points, mimicking a vital part of the human brain activated when trading.

Algorithmic trading, the most widely used form of AI in the financial industry, uses complex and advanced mathematical models to make transaction decisions on behalf of humans. Rules built into this model attempt to determine the optimal time to trade, with the least repercussions on stock prices.

AI systems operate by crunching through data, trying to find correlations, and teaching themselves how to approximate future outcomes. The process of AI systems repeatedly going through data and trying to learn from it and find insights is known as machine learning.

In other words, by effectively mirroring the approach and patterns of human traders, AI and machine learning are making trading more accessible to a greater number of people by decreasing dependency on human advisors.

“Many investors believe that most of the information presented at the market is not enough for them to take the decision of investing alone,” says Al Ajmi.

Retail investors are now increasingly using AI-driven investment platforms, which are promising them secure and stable returns, citing their cost-effectiveness, simplicity and accessibility.

Covid-19 impacts 

Over the past few years, the online trading world has been gradually moving towards being dominated by AI and machine learning technologies.

Of late, the coronavirus pandemic has greatly accelerated this transition, with retail investors finally beginning to unlock the full potential of these tools.

“I believe that Covid-19 has shown the world that technology is the only saviour,” adds Al Ajmi.

“It accelerated the development phase, in which most trading is being done remotely and without the need to be physically available. During Covid times, a lot of people have become more interested in trading because technology has eased the process of learning and entering the markets.”

Emerging technologies 

In terms of new and emerging technologies, Al Ajmi believes that the focus for the next five years will be on copy trading technology.

“Beginners will have the opportunity to learn from experienced traders and copy their trades from a well-developed app, that will allow people to meet, chat, discover, learn and more.”

The premise of copy trading is as simple as its name suggests, involving tracking and duplicating trades executed by other investors in the financial markets. Copy trading, also known as mirror trading or social trading, allows investors to automatically copy the trades of high-profile investors.

Al Ajmi says this technology will just cost a subscription fee or percentage fee set by the trader.

“Today, any trader who wishes to link his account with any investor can do so through copy trading. This new technology will provide the market with new investors and change the market movement along with its trends.”

The Kuwaiti entrepreneur adds that, while markets are still being swayed by people’s emotions, AI technologies are slowly evolving to be able to interpret these sentiments and patterns.

“The market changes every period; its movement and the method of liquidity in it, and even the strategy of people who trade in the market varies from period to period.”

When there is negative news, he adds, we see the trend shift towards selling, while positive news moves people to buy.

“Programming and the use of technology is based on reading these emotions and interpreting them. I think the behaviour of human traders will be reduced, but their behaviour will remain visible in the market.

“The use of AI and automated trading in the market will be a leap for every trader, as it will manage the risk levels.”

Filling the gap 

Al Ajmi hopes to soon allow VI Markets users to link their accounts with others for programmed copying, in addition to providing tech tools that analyse a client’s position through a report that focuses on their successful strategies.

“VI Markets possesses a huge market share in the Middle East, and most of our clients are asking for this kind of technology and want it launched as soon as possible. So, this [copy trading] is what we will be offering during August, in order to serve our clients with excellence.”

With a well-established presence throughout the region, VI Markets provides investors in Kuwait a tailored online trading service, partnered with One Financial Markets, which was established in London in 2007.

One Financial Markets is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offers global reach with local expertise through its wholly owned and affiliated offices across the Middle East, Europe, South America and Central and Southeast Asia.

Coupling knowledge sharing with the power of AI 

As he believes that anything is possible through education, Al Ajmi is a strong advocate for the untapped opportunities that knowledge sharing can unlock.

Speaking directly to his regional followers via his growing online platforms, Al Ajmi believes this connection serves as an effective means of spreading essential information around online trading.

With terrible advice and bad-faith actors widespread on social media, Al Ajmi decided to bypass traditional marketing channels and speak directly to the public, in a bid to help people make more informed decisions with investing their money online.

“With online webinars, we were able to provide the same quality and content to a bigger audience, being located in different parts of the world without worrying about all the Covid-19 restrictions. This allowed us to reach a huge number of clients and provide them with everything they needed.”

Al Ajmi also believes that the key to success in the world of online trading lies in empowering novice investors in the Middle East through financial education coupled with utilising AI and machine learning technologies.

“This technology will solve many problems and reduce many risks, but I think that the right decision for anyone thinking of investing is to have an understanding of the basics of trading before turning to using this technology only. This will educate those interested in investing and give them a better chance to manage their risks.”

Besides downloadable desktop programmes and smartphone apps for trading, the VI Markets site has a training academy that outlines, in accessible language and textbook detail, concepts such as CFD trading, forex, analysis tools, investor types and, perhaps most importantly, trading psychology.

Shift in investment priorities 

With the rise in robo-advisers, investment priorities are shifting as well, placing great value on more diverse investments. In the MENA region, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are slowly becoming a disruptive force, adding value to the investment sector.

An ETF is an exchange-listed investment fund that may consist stocks, bonds, commodities or other financial assets, which can be bought and sold throughout the trading day. Previously, investing in stock markets meant buying stocks, however ETFs combine the trading flexibility of a stock with the diversification and low costs of a mutual fund.

Investors can track a particular set of equities (stock ETFs); track the price of a commodity (commodity ETFs); invest in currencies (currency ETFs); or gain exposure to various types of bonds (bond ETFs), among other activities.

With the pandemic accelerating public interest in investing and ETFs offering exposure to a basket of stocks at a lower cost and reduced management fees, ETFs have elicited promising responses from first-time investors.

Robo-advisors and AI are playing a key role in this shift, given that they greatly invest in ETFs to give investors broad diversification with low underlying expenses. By selecting different types of ETFs, robo-advisors are helping manage investment returns and market risk with diversification.

Looking ahead

Al Ajmi predicts a slow and steady transition to automated trading, with the upcoming period being mainly focus on copy trade technology aided by human advisor expertise.

“The next three to five years will focus on using copy trading and utilising platforms that have more interactions between dealers in the markets. There will be more use for automated trading and growing reliance of programming on reading, implementing and dealing with data in the market.”

He reiterates that before fully integrating AI into the world of online trading, it is imperative to educate investors about the basics of trading and empowering them to be able to fully utilise these emerging technologies. 

By ITP - 2021

his story appeared in our August 2024 issue, featuring the Top 100 CEOs in the Middle East ranking, as well as the Global Meets Local list.

It’s a bright summer’s evening in the U.K. in June, and Talal Al Ajmi, Founder and CEO of online broker VI Markets, is sitting under a tree in a park, taking a break from planning for his graduation ceremony. Having just completed his master’s degree in financial services management from the University of Salford, the CEO is discussing his thoughts on the importance of educating investors. “Education is the most important input for a successful trader,” says the Kuwait-based entrepreneur.

As he speaks, he says that VI Markets is simultaneously conducting seminars to teach people about financial markets in its Kuwait and Dubai offices, with training scheduled in Egypt and AlAin the next day. “Before we established VI Markets, the reputation of FX and assets trading was very bad in the region, but now we increase awareness and teach everyone about the market,” Al Ajmi explains. “Every day we’re doing seminars for a minimum of 200 and 250 people, and all the courses that we do are free.”

Founded more than 14 years ago, VI Markets is an online brokerage that enables its clients to trade financial assets and derivatives, including forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energy, equities, futures, and cryptocurrencies. The company today has offices in London, Dubai, Kuwait City, Cairo, and Muscat.

With an eye on future growth, the CEO believes that education is key to individuals making money from financial markets, which in turn helps him grow his business. Before VI Markets’ clients start funding their accounts, they undergo a 10-day seminar to teach them the basics. They are then taught strategies like fundamental and technical analysis and risk management, tested, and given scores on various aspects of their trading skills. Once they’ve learned the right tools and skills, they begin to trade with real money.

But an introduction to financial education starts much younger. Last year, VI Markets partnered with KidZania in Kuwait to introduce investment and trading to kids through play. KidZania City in Kuwait City is a 7,000-square-meter scaled-down city, complete with vehicles, pavements, buildings, and workplaces that allow children to role-play real-life activities. The VI Markets Financial Trading Hub was inaugurated in KidZania City, Kuwait, in June 2023. “At KidZania, it is our constant endeavor to partner with brands that provide opportunities for children to learn through unique, real-life-like role-plays, to positively impact society and the environment they live in,” said Steven Putzeys, KidZania City Business Director, in a statement at the time.

Financial literacy is more than just a route to higher levels of financial inclusion. Not having an understanding of the compounding effects of interest rates while having increased access to borrowing can lead to decision-making that leaves individuals overburdened with debt. According to a report by the Kuwait Institute of Banking Studies, financial literacy in the GCC is better than the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries, but it is still lagging behind major economies such as Canada, France, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. Kuwait performs well relative to other GCC nations and the world, with large financial institutions contributing towards financial literacy, including through the National Bank of Kuwait’s Bankee program and Kuwait Finance House’s “Diraya” campaign. “Financial literacy is the cornerstone of a secure financial future, encompassing essential skills like budgeting, investing, understanding credit, and retirement planning,” says Alok Kumar, Cofounder and CEO of fintech platform Zywa. “In the Middle East, rising household debt is a critical issue, particularly in the UAE, where many young adults are caught in debt traps. By equipping young people with financial education, we can empower them to make informed decisions and avoid these pitfalls.”

Al Ajmi himself first learned about online trading in 2003, while at university in Jordan studying IT. After graduating, he returned home to Kuwait and began his career managing a couple of small family businesses with his cousins and brothers. Eventually, he joined a brokerage company and became a branch manager. It was there he realized that there was a financial education gap and started offering free seminars for clients in the office. However, he came up against some challenges. “To be honest, it was very hard to tell the owners and the board members in the brokerage that I wanted to invest in education and seminars. They had another marketing channel they focused on and that was it,” he remembers.

Al Ajmi established VI Markets in 2010 in Kuwait City by partnering with online trading broker One Financial Markets. In 2019, One Financial Markets was acquired by Axi Financial Services (UK) Ltd, and in 2023, Al Ajmi signed an exclusive partnership with Axi to represent them in MENA, providing investors in the Middle East with a tailored online trading service. Axi Financial Services (UK) Ltd is registered in England and regulated by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. As an international broker, Axi has a presence in over 100 countries and is used by traders, trading businesses, banks, and financial organizations to execute transactions on the world’s financial markets. As an “introducer” to AxiTrader Ltd, which trades under the name One Financial Markets, VI Markets is able to use Axi’s technology to enable its investors to trade forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energies, equities, cryptocurrencies, and futures.

Combining his passion for education with technology, Al Ajmi has leveraged social media to attract clients in the Middle East by sharing his daily trades and educating followers on how to manage their portfolios. Today, he has over 120,000 followers on Instagram. He says the company had over 130,000 clients as of June 2024, with GCC-based clients contributing over 70% of revenues, while the other 30% comes from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Türkiye. Foreign exchange (Forex) trading contributes the most towards revenues followed by equities and cryptocurrencies.

The global Forex market is the largest financial market in the world by trading volume. While under light regulatory oversight in most countries, the structure and operation of the market have been driven by commercial interests and the market participants’ needs. Forex trading for financial motives—such as investments in foreign-denominated securities—far exceeds the transaction volume related to international trade.

In the Middle East, the financial brokerage sector is a competitive space, with several international and regional brokers, as well as large financial institutions, competing for market share. Several banks in the region have broking divisions, such as Emirates NBD Securities in the U.A.E. and SNB Capital in Saudi Arabia, and standalone brokers like Equiti, CFI Financial Markets, and Sarwa are also growing. The Middle East’s online trading industry is expected to reach $1 trillion in value by 2025, according to the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

As VI Markets has grown, it’s also expanded its services. For example, In 2016, the company also established the Yasmeen forum, which is exclusively for women wanting to get into trading. Knowing that women were equally keen to begin trading but noticing they were much shyer to open up during workshops, Al Ajmi designed the forum to offer tailored educational services and personal support. According to the CEO, VI Markets now has over 15,000 female traders thanks to this training program.

In 2021, it introduced “copy trading,” which, as the name suggests, allows followers—known as “copiers”—to replicate trades placed by other, often more experienced, traders—known as “signals”—in real-time. To do this, traders first sign up with VI Markets and link their accounts to the copy trading app. As the signals trade and build a track record, their performance data, including monthly returns and profitability, can be monitored through the app. Copiers can then select which signals to follow. Once a copier connects to a signal, every transaction executed by the signal is automatically replicated in the accounts of their copiers, proportionally adjusting for factors like available funds and risk preference.

More recently, in May 2023, VI Markets and Axi Financial Services launched the Axi Select program, which provides advanced trading tools and educational content and offers funding to traders based on their “edge score,” which evaluates their skill, risk management, consistency, and experience.

Looking ahead to the next couple of years, while he continues to focus on delivering education, Al Ajmi says he also has plans to invest in advanced trading technologies and platforms to be able to offer solutions that enhance trading efficiency, security, and accessibility for clients. “I aspire to expand VI Markets to become one of the leading global companies in online trading and to inspire new investors as well,” he concludes.

By Jason Lasrado - 2024

VI Markets are proud to provide investors the opportunity to trade forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energies, bonds and futures.

Kuwait City, 7th June 2023: VI Markets partnered with One Financial Markets to provide the investors in Kuwait and Middle East a tailored online trading service. With this partnership, VI Markets are proud to provide investors the opportunity to trade forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energies, bonds and futures.

In keeping with this ideology, Talal AlAjmi, CEO and founder of VI Markets, said this partnership certainly provides kids with the role-playing experience to empower them to the world of financial investment, through hands-on engagement and introducing them to leading world financial markets.

He elaborated on VI Markets commitment to society – “we believe kids are the face of the future and introducing them to different types of investment will allow them to adapt to the real world”.

Mr. Andrew Henderson, One Financial Markets Regional Head – Middle East and Africa, complimented the initiative of the partnership and stated that today’s kids are technologically advanced and the activity brings out the true experience of getting them to take the first step.

The event marked the traditional “Handing over KidZania City Key” by business Director Steven Putzeys, along with a welcome dance by KidZania’s RightZKeepers – Urbano and Bekha. This was followed by an extensive walk around the city and the opening of the VI Markets Financial Trading Hub establishment for the first time.

Steven Putzeys iterated – “At KidZania, it is our constant endeavor to partner with brands that provide opportunities for children to learn through unique, real-life like role-plays, to positively impact society and the environment they live in. The various activities in KidZania aid physical intellectual growth, contribute to the development of skills and attitudes, stimulate creative thinking and boost self-esteem and self-confidence levels.”

The scaled-down city replicates the real world in a safe and self-contained 7,000 square meter facility. Children can choose from 78 engaging establishments and role-play 100 exciting roles – and just like in the real world, they can earn kidZos, KidZania’s currency, to either spend or save. KidZania operates like a real city complete with buildings, paved streets, vehicles, a functioning economy, and recognizable destinations in the form of “establishments” sponsored by Marketing Partners who represent leading multi-national, regional, and local brands.

By Staff Writer- 2023

As technology continues to advance, Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets, explains how specific technological innovations including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are going to steadily shift the way we trade and interact with currencies in the metaverse.

The potential benefits of leveraging augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in the metaverse and its implications

In particular, trading is an ideal use case for these evolving paradigms where rich data sets and complex products provide opportunities to leverage technology, such as augmented reality to support daily business, says Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets.

He adds: “The benefits of leveraging augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in the metaverse include the ability to generate opportunities through leading-edge technology and the reduction of operating costs.

“Specifically, within trading, key use cases are driven by AR/VR’s abilities to bolster an unconstrained environment to visualise data, for example as providing a medium to easily recognise changes and patterns; collaborate with clients and interact with counterparties, all in a dynamic and real-time system.”

The potential benefits from leveraging AR/VR, as described above, can reduce the costs to an overall business infrastructure by eliminating multiple monitors, prime real estate, advanced wiring, systematic cooling, and so on.

As market data providers evolve their products, Al Ajmi points out that it will be important for them to build application programming interfaces (APIs) that are tailored for consuming their data via different AR/VR solutions. “This includes providing value-add services that support analysing through research and market data in a seamless manner,” he explains.

The metaverse economy and the transformation of forex trading through VR will be an immersive experience

According to Al Ajmi, the metaverse will allow traders to trade and will transform forex in a way where no borders, strict regulations, or trade barriers will stop anyone from any country from trading in the metaverse.

“The metaverse economy would be based on blockchain technology and related asset classes like NFTs and crypto,” he explains, and this means businesses should expect a future where they can set up their VR stores by buying property as NFTs and using crypto to price product catalogues.

Businesses can also use NFTs to sell and buy virtual assets in the metaverse. He elaborates: “Non-fungible tokens, often known as NFTs, are a type of digital asset that grants the buyer a type of ownership license for virtual goods. Digital artworks, GIFs, memes, and Tweets have all been sold as NFTs in the past.”

Because of this huge demand for high-value NFTs, Al Ajmi explains that businesses may find investment opportunities in the metaverse.

VI Markets is aligned with providing education to its clients, while the metaverse will provide VR-based learning to businesses and brokers

According to Al Ajmi, the main mission and vision of VI Markets is educating and spreading awareness about trading online with staff trained to provide customer service unparalleled elsewhere.

In this context, the metaverse, reveals Al Ajmi, could revolutionise training and skills development, radically compressing the time needed to develop and acquire new skills. “AI-enabled digital coaches could be on-hand to assist in employee training and with career advice.”

Meta-reality will alter customer interactions, one of the most significant aspects of a brokerage. To adapt to this shift moving forward, VI Markets might alter some customer interaction for some time. “However, I don’t think it will do that for long time as people will get used to the meta-world and acquire the skills of interaction required,” he says.

Key advantages to brokers trading in the metaverse

The benefits of trading in the metaverse, says Al Ajmi, include the ability to generate opportunities through leading-edge technology and the reduction of operating cost.
“Specifically, within trading, key use cases are driven by AR/VR’s abilities to boost an unconstrained environment to visualise data, for example, providing a medium to easily recognise changes and patterns; co-operate with clients and interact with counterparties, all in a dynamic and real-time system,” he says.

The future of trading in the metaverse

Currently, VI Markets offer Copy Trading, a unique, patented technology which automatically copies trading portfolio performance for individuals who want to link their accounts with a specific trader.

This new technology eases the process of managing one’s portfolio, and with Copy Trading, many traders can start joining the social trading revolution, and connect with other traders, discuss different strategies, copy or even mirror their trades.

Another unique offering by VI markets is One Connect app, which Al Ajmi points out handles it all in a safe and secure environment and keeps all your execution in one place whilst experiencing all the exceptional trading tools it offers.

In the future, Al Ajmi says that users will be exposed to a value creation platform which will allow users to optimise, upgrade and engage in real life investment activities in virtual spaces.

“They will have more opportunities to trade on a larger scale and use AI as form of an advantage to ease the time and the effort,” he says. “Also, the AI will mine huge amounts of data from exchanges and coin prices which may have been accumulated over a long period of time and analyse it to find complex patterns that the human being cannot find.”

VI Markets is walking in these footsteps and planning to have metaverse lands in the coming future.

ByJason Lasrado - 2022

Man vs Machine: How AI robots are taking over online trading.

Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets, shares his insights on how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are becoming a disruptive and prominent force in the online trading world.

When stock trading first emerged, transactions were carried out on active trading floors filled with brokers and traders, with the key tool driving the reasoning behind these trades being the human brain.

By utilising the pattern-spotting nature of the brain and sequential reasoning, traders communicated verbally to convey trading information, along with their intentions and acceptance of trades in the trading pit.

The services of the human floor trader are gradually becoming redundant as exchanges go virtual, paving the way for individual investors to participate in markets on an equal footing for the first time.

As online trading continues to evolve, Talal Al Ajmi, a young Kuwaiti entrepreneur and CEO and founder of Version International Markets (VI Markets), believes that algorithms and machine learning technologies are the upcoming game-changers for the industry and the new norm for the future.

Mimicking the human brain 

Traditionally, human traders would track the prices of stock and try recalling them, creating memories to form a pattern. AI can do the same task efficiently and can include more data points, mimicking a vital part of the human brain activated when trading.

Algorithmic trading, the most widely used form of AI in the financial industry, uses complex and advanced mathematical models to make transaction decisions on behalf of humans. Rules built into this model attempt to determine the optimal time to trade, with the least repercussions on stock prices.

AI systems operate by crunching through data, trying to find correlations, and teaching themselves how to approximate future outcomes. The process of AI systems repeatedly going through data and trying to learn from it and find insights is known as machine learning.

In other words, by effectively mirroring the approach and patterns of human traders, AI and machine learning are making trading more accessible to a greater number of people by decreasing dependency on human advisors.

“Many investors believe that most of the information presented at the market is not enough for them to take the decision of investing alone,” says Al Ajmi.

Retail investors are now increasingly using AI-driven investment platforms, which are promising them secure and stable returns, citing their cost-effectiveness, simplicity and accessibility.

Covid-19 impacts 

Over the past few years, the online trading world has been gradually moving towards being dominated by AI and machine learning technologies.

Of late, the coronavirus pandemic has greatly accelerated this transition, with retail investors finally beginning to unlock the full potential of these tools.

“I believe that Covid-19 has shown the world that technology is the only saviour,” adds Al Ajmi.

“It accelerated the development phase, in which most trading is being done remotely and without the need to be physically available. During Covid times, a lot of people have become more interested in trading because technology has eased the process of learning and entering the markets.”

Emerging technologies 

In terms of new and emerging technologies, Al Ajmi believes that the focus for the next five years will be on copy trading technology.

“Beginners will have the opportunity to learn from experienced traders and copy their trades from a well-developed app, that will allow people to meet, chat, discover, learn and more.”

The premise of copy trading is as simple as its name suggests, involving tracking and duplicating trades executed by other investors in the financial markets. Copy trading, also known as mirror trading or social trading, allows investors to automatically copy the trades of high-profile investors.

Al Ajmi says this technology will just cost a subscription fee or percentage fee set by the trader.

“Today, any trader who wishes to link his account with any investor can do so through copy trading. This new technology will provide the market with new investors and change the market movement along with its trends.”

The Kuwaiti entrepreneur adds that, while markets are still being swayed by people’s emotions, AI technologies are slowly evolving to be able to interpret these sentiments and patterns.

“The market changes every period; its movement and the method of liquidity in it, and even the strategy of people who trade in the market varies from period to period.”

When there is negative news, he adds, we see the trend shift towards selling, while positive news moves people to buy.

“Programming and the use of technology is based on reading these emotions and interpreting them. I think the behaviour of human traders will be reduced, but their behaviour will remain visible in the market.

“The use of AI and automated trading in the market will be a leap for every trader, as it will manage the risk levels.”

Filling the gap 

Al Ajmi hopes to soon allow VI Markets users to link their accounts with others for programmed copying, in addition to providing tech tools that analyse a client’s position through a report that focuses on their successful strategies.

“VI Markets possesses a huge market share in the Middle East, and most of our clients are asking for this kind of technology and want it launched as soon as possible. So, this [copy trading] is what we will be offering during August, in order to serve our clients with excellence.”

With a well-established presence throughout the region, VI Markets provides investors in Kuwait a tailored online trading service, partnered with One Financial Markets, which was established in London in 2007.

One Financial Markets is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offers global reach with local expertise through its wholly owned and affiliated offices across the Middle East, Europe, South America and Central and Southeast Asia.

Coupling knowledge sharing with the power of AI 

As he believes that anything is possible through education, Al Ajmi is a strong advocate for the untapped opportunities that knowledge sharing can unlock.

Speaking directly to his regional followers via his growing online platforms, Al Ajmi believes this connection serves as an effective means of spreading essential information around online trading.

With terrible advice and bad-faith actors widespread on social media, Al Ajmi decided to bypass traditional marketing channels and speak directly to the public, in a bid to help people make more informed decisions with investing their money online.

“With online webinars, we were able to provide the same quality and content to a bigger audience, being located in different parts of the world without worrying about all the Covid-19 restrictions. This allowed us to reach a huge number of clients and provide them with everything they needed.”

Al Ajmi also believes that the key to success in the world of online trading lies in empowering novice investors in the Middle East through financial education coupled with utilising AI and machine learning technologies.

“This technology will solve many problems and reduce many risks, but I think that the right decision for anyone thinking of investing is to have an understanding of the basics of trading before turning to using this technology only. This will educate those interested in investing and give them a better chance to manage their risks.”

Besides downloadable desktop programmes and smartphone apps for trading, the VI Markets site has a training academy that outlines, in accessible language and textbook detail, concepts such as CFD trading, forex, analysis tools, investor types and, perhaps most importantly, trading psychology.

Shift in investment priorities 

With the rise in robo-advisers, investment priorities are shifting as well, placing great value on more diverse investments. In the MENA region, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are slowly becoming a disruptive force, adding value to the investment sector.

An ETF is an exchange-listed investment fund that may consist stocks, bonds, commodities or other financial assets, which can be bought and sold throughout the trading day. Previously, investing in stock markets meant buying stocks, however ETFs combine the trading flexibility of a stock with the diversification and low costs of a mutual fund.

Investors can track a particular set of equities (stock ETFs); track the price of a commodity (commodity ETFs); invest in currencies (currency ETFs); or gain exposure to various types of bonds (bond ETFs), among other activities.

With the pandemic accelerating public interest in investing and ETFs offering exposure to a basket of stocks at a lower cost and reduced management fees, ETFs have elicited promising responses from first-time investors.

Robo-advisors and AI are playing a key role in this shift, given that they greatly invest in ETFs to give investors broad diversification with low underlying expenses. By selecting different types of ETFs, robo-advisors are helping manage investment returns and market risk with diversification.

Looking ahead

Al Ajmi predicts a slow and steady transition to automated trading, with the upcoming period being mainly focus on copy trade technology aided by human advisor expertise.

“The next three to five years will focus on using copy trading and utilising platforms that have more interactions between dealers in the markets. There will be more use for automated trading and growing reliance of programming on reading, implementing and dealing with data in the market.”

He reiterates that before fully integrating AI into the world of online trading, it is imperative to educate investors about the basics of trading and empowering them to be able to fully utilise these emerging technologies.

By ITP - 2021

Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets, shares his insights on how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are becoming a disruptive and prominent force in the online trading world.

When stock trading first emerged, transactions were carried out on active trading floors filled with brokers and traders, with the key tool driving the reasoning behind these trades being the human brain.

By utilising the pattern-spotting nature of the brain and sequential reasoning, traders communicated verbally to convey trading information, along with their intentions and acceptance of trades in the trading pit.

The services of the human floor trader are gradually becoming redundant as exchanges go virtual, paving the way for individual investors to participate in markets on an equal footing for the first time.

As online trading continues to evolve, Talal Al Ajmi, a young Kuwaiti entrepreneur and CEO and founder of Version International Markets (VI Markets), believes that algorithms and machine learning technologies are the upcoming game-changers for the industry and the new norm for the future.

Mimicking the human brain 

Traditionally, human traders would track the prices of stock and try recalling them, creating memories to form a pattern. AI can do the same task efficiently and can include more data points, mimicking a vital part of the human brain activated when trading.

Algorithmic trading, the most widely used form of AI in the financial industry, uses complex and advanced mathematical models to make transaction decisions on behalf of humans. Rules built into this model attempt to determine the optimal time to trade, with the least repercussions on stock prices.

AI systems operate by crunching through data, trying to find correlations, and teaching themselves how to approximate future outcomes. The process of AI systems repeatedly going through data and trying to learn from it and find insights is known as machine learning.

In other words, by effectively mirroring the approach and patterns of human traders, AI and machine learning are making trading more accessible to a greater number of people by decreasing dependency on human advisors.

“Many investors believe that most of the information presented at the market is not enough for them to take the decision of investing alone,” says Al Ajmi.

Retail investors are now increasingly using AI-driven investment platforms, which are promising them secure and stable returns, citing their cost-effectiveness, simplicity and accessibility.

Covid-19 impacts 

Over the past few years, the online trading world has been gradually moving towards being dominated by AI and machine learning technologies.

Of late, the coronavirus pandemic has greatly accelerated this transition, with retail investors finally beginning to unlock the full potential of these tools.

“I believe that Covid-19 has shown the world that technology is the only saviour,” adds Al Ajmi.

“It accelerated the development phase, in which most trading is being done remotely and without the need to be physically available. During Covid times, a lot of people have become more interested in trading because technology has eased the process of learning and entering the markets.”

Emerging technologies 

In terms of new and emerging technologies, Al Ajmi believes that the focus for the next five years will be on copy trading technology.

“Beginners will have the opportunity to learn from experienced traders and copy their trades from a well-developed app, that will allow people to meet, chat, discover, learn and more.”

The premise of copy trading is as simple as its name suggests, involving tracking and duplicating trades executed by other investors in the financial markets. Copy trading, also known as mirror trading or social trading, allows investors to automatically copy the trades of high-profile investors.

Al Ajmi says this technology will just cost a subscription fee or percentage fee set by the trader.

“Today, any trader who wishes to link his account with any investor can do so through copy trading. This new technology will provide the market with new investors and change the market movement along with its trends.”

The Kuwaiti entrepreneur adds that, while markets are still being swayed by people’s emotions, AI technologies are slowly evolving to be able to interpret these sentiments and patterns.

“The market changes every period; its movement and the method of liquidity in it, and even the strategy of people who trade in the market varies from period to period.”

When there is negative news, he adds, we see the trend shift towards selling, while positive news moves people to buy.

“Programming and the use of technology is based on reading these emotions and interpreting them. I think the behaviour of human traders will be reduced, but their behaviour will remain visible in the market.

“The use of AI and automated trading in the market will be a leap for every trader, as it will manage the risk levels.”

Filling the gap 

Al Ajmi hopes to soon allow VI Markets users to link their accounts with others for programmed copying, in addition to providing tech tools that analyse a client’s position through a report that focuses on their successful strategies.

“VI Markets possesses a huge market share in the Middle East, and most of our clients are asking for this kind of technology and want it launched as soon as possible. So, this [copy trading] is what we will be offering during August, in order to serve our clients with excellence.”

With a well-established presence throughout the region, VI Markets provides investors in Kuwait a tailored online trading service, partnered with One Financial Markets, which was established in London in 2007.

One Financial Markets is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offers global reach with local expertise through its wholly owned and affiliated offices across the Middle East, Europe, South America and Central and Southeast Asia.

Coupling knowledge sharing with the power of AI 

As he believes that anything is possible through education, Al Ajmi is a strong advocate for the untapped opportunities that knowledge sharing can unlock.

Speaking directly to his regional followers via his growing online platforms, Al Ajmi believes this connection serves as an effective means of spreading essential information around online trading.

With terrible advice and bad-faith actors widespread on social media, Al Ajmi decided to bypass traditional marketing channels and speak directly to the public, in a bid to help people make more informed decisions with investing their money online.

“With online webinars, we were able to provide the same quality and content to a bigger audience, being located in different parts of the world without worrying about all the Covid-19 restrictions. This allowed us to reach a huge number of clients and provide them with everything they needed.”

Al Ajmi also believes that the key to success in the world of online trading lies in empowering novice investors in the Middle East through financial education coupled with utilising AI and machine learning technologies.

“This technology will solve many problems and reduce many risks, but I think that the right decision for anyone thinking of investing is to have an understanding of the basics of trading before turning to using this technology only. This will educate those interested in investing and give them a better chance to manage their risks.”

Besides downloadable desktop programmes and smartphone apps for trading, the VI Markets site has a training academy that outlines, in accessible language and textbook detail, concepts such as CFD trading, forex, analysis tools, investor types and, perhaps most importantly, trading psychology.

Shift in investment priorities 

With the rise in robo-advisers, investment priorities are shifting as well, placing great value on more diverse investments. In the MENA region, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are slowly becoming a disruptive force, adding value to the investment sector.

An ETF is an exchange-listed investment fund that may consist stocks, bonds, commodities or other financial assets, which can be bought and sold throughout the trading day. Previously, investing in stock markets meant buying stocks, however ETFs combine the trading flexibility of a stock with the diversification and low costs of a mutual fund.

Investors can track a particular set of equities (stock ETFs); track the price of a commodity (commodity ETFs); invest in currencies (currency ETFs); or gain exposure to various types of bonds (bond ETFs), among other activities.

With the pandemic accelerating public interest in investing and ETFs offering exposure to a basket of stocks at a lower cost and reduced management fees, ETFs have elicited promising responses from first-time investors.

Robo-advisors and AI are playing a key role in this shift, given that they greatly invest in ETFs to give investors broad diversification with low underlying expenses. By selecting different types of ETFs, robo-advisors are helping manage investment returns and market risk with diversification.

Looking ahead

Al Ajmi predicts a slow and steady transition to automated trading, with the upcoming period being mainly focus on copy trade technology aided by human advisor expertise.

“The next three to five years will focus on using copy trading and utilising platforms that have more interactions between dealers in the markets. There will be more use for automated trading and growing reliance of programming on reading, implementing and dealing with data in the market.”

He reiterates that before fully integrating AI into the world of online trading, it is imperative to educate investors about the basics of trading and empowering them to be able to fully utilise these emerging technologies. 

By ITP - 2021

his story appeared in our August 2024 issue, featuring the Top 100 CEOs in the Middle East ranking, as well as the Global Meets Local list.

It’s a bright summer’s evening in the U.K. in June, and Talal Al Ajmi, Founder and CEO of online broker VI Markets, is sitting under a tree in a park, taking a break from planning for his graduation ceremony. Having just completed his master’s degree in financial services management from the University of Salford, the CEO is discussing his thoughts on the importance of educating investors. “Education is the most important input for a successful trader,” says the Kuwait-based entrepreneur.

As he speaks, he says that VI Markets is simultaneously conducting seminars to teach people about financial markets in its Kuwait and Dubai offices, with training scheduled in Egypt and AlAin the next day. “Before we established VI Markets, the reputation of FX and assets trading was very bad in the region, but now we increase awareness and teach everyone about the market,” Al Ajmi explains. “Every day we’re doing seminars for a minimum of 200 and 250 people, and all the courses that we do are free.”

Founded more than 14 years ago, VI Markets is an online brokerage that enables its clients to trade financial assets and derivatives, including forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energy, equities, futures, and cryptocurrencies. The company today has offices in London, Dubai, Kuwait City, Cairo, and Muscat.

With an eye on future growth, the CEO believes that education is key to individuals making money from financial markets, which in turn helps him grow his business. Before VI Markets’ clients start funding their accounts, they undergo a 10-day seminar to teach them the basics. They are then taught strategies like fundamental and technical analysis and risk management, tested, and given scores on various aspects of their trading skills. Once they’ve learned the right tools and skills, they begin to trade with real money.

But an introduction to financial education starts much younger. Last year, VI Markets partnered with KidZania in Kuwait to introduce investment and trading to kids through play. KidZania City in Kuwait City is a 7,000-square-meter scaled-down city, complete with vehicles, pavements, buildings, and workplaces that allow children to role-play real-life activities. The VI Markets Financial Trading Hub was inaugurated in KidZania City, Kuwait, in June 2023. “At KidZania, it is our constant endeavor to partner with brands that provide opportunities for children to learn through unique, real-life-like role-plays, to positively impact society and the environment they live in,” said Steven Putzeys, KidZania City Business Director, in a statement at the time.

Financial literacy is more than just a route to higher levels of financial inclusion. Not having an understanding of the compounding effects of interest rates while having increased access to borrowing can lead to decision-making that leaves individuals overburdened with debt. According to a report by the Kuwait Institute of Banking Studies, financial literacy in the GCC is better than the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries, but it is still lagging behind major economies such as Canada, France, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. Kuwait performs well relative to other GCC nations and the world, with large financial institutions contributing towards financial literacy, including through the National Bank of Kuwait’s Bankee program and Kuwait Finance House’s “Diraya” campaign. “Financial literacy is the cornerstone of a secure financial future, encompassing essential skills like budgeting, investing, understanding credit, and retirement planning,” says Alok Kumar, Cofounder and CEO of fintech platform Zywa. “In the Middle East, rising household debt is a critical issue, particularly in the UAE, where many young adults are caught in debt traps. By equipping young people with financial education, we can empower them to make informed decisions and avoid these pitfalls.”

Al Ajmi himself first learned about online trading in 2003, while at university in Jordan studying IT. After graduating, he returned home to Kuwait and began his career managing a couple of small family businesses with his cousins and brothers. Eventually, he joined a brokerage company and became a branch manager. It was there he realized that there was a financial education gap and started offering free seminars for clients in the office. However, he came up against some challenges. “To be honest, it was very hard to tell the owners and the board members in the brokerage that I wanted to invest in education and seminars. They had another marketing channel they focused on and that was it,” he remembers.

Al Ajmi established VI Markets in 2010 in Kuwait City by partnering with online trading broker One Financial Markets. In 2019, One Financial Markets was acquired by Axi Financial Services (UK) Ltd, and in 2023, Al Ajmi signed an exclusive partnership with Axi to represent them in MENA, providing investors in the Middle East with a tailored online trading service. Axi Financial Services (UK) Ltd is registered in England and regulated by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. As an international broker, Axi has a presence in over 100 countries and is used by traders, trading businesses, banks, and financial organizations to execute transactions on the world’s financial markets. As an “introducer” to AxiTrader Ltd, which trades under the name One Financial Markets, VI Markets is able to use Axi’s technology to enable its investors to trade forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energies, equities, cryptocurrencies, and futures.

Combining his passion for education with technology, Al Ajmi has leveraged social media to attract clients in the Middle East by sharing his daily trades and educating followers on how to manage their portfolios. Today, he has over 120,000 followers on Instagram. He says the company had over 130,000 clients as of June 2024, with GCC-based clients contributing over 70% of revenues, while the other 30% comes from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Türkiye. Foreign exchange (Forex) trading contributes the most towards revenues followed by equities and cryptocurrencies.

The global Forex market is the largest financial market in the world by trading volume. While under light regulatory oversight in most countries, the structure and operation of the market have been driven by commercial interests and the market participants’ needs. Forex trading for financial motives—such as investments in foreign-denominated securities—far exceeds the transaction volume related to international trade.

In the Middle East, the financial brokerage sector is a competitive space, with several international and regional brokers, as well as large financial institutions, competing for market share. Several banks in the region have broking divisions, such as Emirates NBD Securities in the U.A.E. and SNB Capital in Saudi Arabia, and standalone brokers like Equiti, CFI Financial Markets, and Sarwa are also growing. The Middle East’s online trading industry is expected to reach $1 trillion in value by 2025, according to the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

As VI Markets has grown, it’s also expanded its services. For example, In 2016, the company also established the Yasmeen forum, which is exclusively for women wanting to get into trading. Knowing that women were equally keen to begin trading but noticing they were much shyer to open up during workshops, Al Ajmi designed the forum to offer tailored educational services and personal support. According to the CEO, VI Markets now has over 15,000 female traders thanks to this training program.

In 2021, it introduced “copy trading,” which, as the name suggests, allows followers—known as “copiers”—to replicate trades placed by other, often more experienced, traders—known as “signals”—in real-time. To do this, traders first sign up with VI Markets and link their accounts to the copy trading app. As the signals trade and build a track record, their performance data, including monthly returns and profitability, can be monitored through the app. Copiers can then select which signals to follow. Once a copier connects to a signal, every transaction executed by the signal is automatically replicated in the accounts of their copiers, proportionally adjusting for factors like available funds and risk preference.

More recently, in May 2023, VI Markets and Axi Financial Services launched the Axi Select program, which provides advanced trading tools and educational content and offers funding to traders based on their “edge score,” which evaluates their skill, risk management, consistency, and experience.

Looking ahead to the next couple of years, while he continues to focus on delivering education, Al Ajmi says he also has plans to invest in advanced trading technologies and platforms to be able to offer solutions that enhance trading efficiency, security, and accessibility for clients. “I aspire to expand VI Markets to become one of the leading global companies in online trading and to inspire new investors as well,” he concludes.

By Jason Lasrado - 2024

VI Markets are proud to provide investors the opportunity to trade forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energies, bonds and futures.

Kuwait City, 7th June 2023: VI Markets partnered with One Financial Markets to provide the investors in Kuwait and Middle East a tailored online trading service. With this partnership, VI Markets are proud to provide investors the opportunity to trade forex and CFDs on indices, commodities, energies, bonds and futures.

In keeping with this ideology, Talal AlAjmi, CEO and founder of VI Markets, said this partnership certainly provides kids with the role-playing experience to empower them to the world of financial investment, through hands-on engagement and introducing them to leading world financial markets.

He elaborated on VI Markets commitment to society – “we believe kids are the face of the future and introducing them to different types of investment will allow them to adapt to the real world”.

Mr. Andrew Henderson, One Financial Markets Regional Head – Middle East and Africa, complimented the initiative of the partnership and stated that today’s kids are technologically advanced and the activity brings out the true experience of getting them to take the first step.

The event marked the traditional “Handing over KidZania City Key” by business Director Steven Putzeys, along with a welcome dance by KidZania’s RightZKeepers – Urbano and Bekha. This was followed by an extensive walk around the city and the opening of the VI Markets Financial Trading Hub establishment for the first time.

Steven Putzeys iterated – “At KidZania, it is our constant endeavor to partner with brands that provide opportunities for children to learn through unique, real-life like role-plays, to positively impact society and the environment they live in. The various activities in KidZania aid physical intellectual growth, contribute to the development of skills and attitudes, stimulate creative thinking and boost self-esteem and self-confidence levels.”

The scaled-down city replicates the real world in a safe and self-contained 7,000 square meter facility. Children can choose from 78 engaging establishments and role-play 100 exciting roles – and just like in the real world, they can earn kidZos, KidZania’s currency, to either spend or save. KidZania operates like a real city complete with buildings, paved streets, vehicles, a functioning economy, and recognizable destinations in the form of “establishments” sponsored by Marketing Partners who represent leading multi-national, regional, and local brands.

By Staff Writer- 2023

As technology continues to advance, Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets, explains how specific technological innovations including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are going to steadily shift the way we trade and interact with currencies in the metaverse.

The potential benefits of leveraging augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in the metaverse and its implications

In particular, trading is an ideal use case for these evolving paradigms where rich data sets and complex products provide opportunities to leverage technology, such as augmented reality to support daily business, says Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets.

He adds: “The benefits of leveraging augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in the metaverse include the ability to generate opportunities through leading-edge technology and the reduction of operating costs.

“Specifically, within trading, key use cases are driven by AR/VR’s abilities to bolster an unconstrained environment to visualise data, for example as providing a medium to easily recognise changes and patterns; collaborate with clients and interact with counterparties, all in a dynamic and real-time system.”

The potential benefits from leveraging AR/VR, as described above, can reduce the costs to an overall business infrastructure by eliminating multiple monitors, prime real estate, advanced wiring, systematic cooling, and so on.

As market data providers evolve their products, Al Ajmi points out that it will be important for them to build application programming interfaces (APIs) that are tailored for consuming their data via different AR/VR solutions. “This includes providing value-add services that support analysing through research and market data in a seamless manner,” he explains.

The metaverse economy and the transformation of forex trading through VR will be an immersive experience

According to Al Ajmi, the metaverse will allow traders to trade and will transform forex in a way where no borders, strict regulations, or trade barriers will stop anyone from any country from trading in the metaverse.

“The metaverse economy would be based on blockchain technology and related asset classes like NFTs and crypto,” he explains, and this means businesses should expect a future where they can set up their VR stores by buying property as NFTs and using crypto to price product catalogues.

Businesses can also use NFTs to sell and buy virtual assets in the metaverse. He elaborates: “Non-fungible tokens, often known as NFTs, are a type of digital asset that grants the buyer a type of ownership license for virtual goods. Digital artworks, GIFs, memes, and Tweets have all been sold as NFTs in the past.”

Because of this huge demand for high-value NFTs, Al Ajmi explains that businesses may find investment opportunities in the metaverse.

VI Markets is aligned with providing education to its clients, while the metaverse will provide VR-based learning to businesses and brokers

According to Al Ajmi, the main mission and vision of VI Markets is educating and spreading awareness about trading online with staff trained to provide customer service unparalleled elsewhere.

In this context, the metaverse, reveals Al Ajmi, could revolutionise training and skills development, radically compressing the time needed to develop and acquire new skills. “AI-enabled digital coaches could be on-hand to assist in employee training and with career advice.”

Meta-reality will alter customer interactions, one of the most significant aspects of a brokerage. To adapt to this shift moving forward, VI Markets might alter some customer interaction for some time. “However, I don’t think it will do that for long time as people will get used to the meta-world and acquire the skills of interaction required,” he says.

Key advantages to brokers trading in the metaverse

The benefits of trading in the metaverse, says Al Ajmi, include the ability to generate opportunities through leading-edge technology and the reduction of operating cost.
“Specifically, within trading, key use cases are driven by AR/VR’s abilities to boost an unconstrained environment to visualise data, for example, providing a medium to easily recognise changes and patterns; co-operate with clients and interact with counterparties, all in a dynamic and real-time system,” he says.

The future of trading in the metaverse

Currently, VI Markets offer Copy Trading, a unique, patented technology which automatically copies trading portfolio performance for individuals who want to link their accounts with a specific trader.

This new technology eases the process of managing one’s portfolio, and with Copy Trading, many traders can start joining the social trading revolution, and connect with other traders, discuss different strategies, copy or even mirror their trades.

Another unique offering by VI markets is One Connect app, which Al Ajmi points out handles it all in a safe and secure environment and keeps all your execution in one place whilst experiencing all the exceptional trading tools it offers.

In the future, Al Ajmi says that users will be exposed to a value creation platform which will allow users to optimise, upgrade and engage in real life investment activities in virtual spaces.

“They will have more opportunities to trade on a larger scale and use AI as form of an advantage to ease the time and the effort,” he says. “Also, the AI will mine huge amounts of data from exchanges and coin prices which may have been accumulated over a long period of time and analyse it to find complex patterns that the human being cannot find.”

VI Markets is walking in these footsteps and planning to have metaverse lands in the coming future.

ByJason Lasrado - 2022

Man vs Machine: How AI robots are taking over online trading.

Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets, shares his insights on how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are becoming a disruptive and prominent force in the online trading world.

When stock trading first emerged, transactions were carried out on active trading floors filled with brokers and traders, with the key tool driving the reasoning behind these trades being the human brain.

By utilising the pattern-spotting nature of the brain and sequential reasoning, traders communicated verbally to convey trading information, along with their intentions and acceptance of trades in the trading pit.

The services of the human floor trader are gradually becoming redundant as exchanges go virtual, paving the way for individual investors to participate in markets on an equal footing for the first time.

As online trading continues to evolve, Talal Al Ajmi, a young Kuwaiti entrepreneur and CEO and founder of Version International Markets (VI Markets), believes that algorithms and machine learning technologies are the upcoming game-changers for the industry and the new norm for the future.

Mimicking the human brain 

Traditionally, human traders would track the prices of stock and try recalling them, creating memories to form a pattern. AI can do the same task efficiently and can include more data points, mimicking a vital part of the human brain activated when trading.

Algorithmic trading, the most widely used form of AI in the financial industry, uses complex and advanced mathematical models to make transaction decisions on behalf of humans. Rules built into this model attempt to determine the optimal time to trade, with the least repercussions on stock prices.

AI systems operate by crunching through data, trying to find correlations, and teaching themselves how to approximate future outcomes. The process of AI systems repeatedly going through data and trying to learn from it and find insights is known as machine learning.

In other words, by effectively mirroring the approach and patterns of human traders, AI and machine learning are making trading more accessible to a greater number of people by decreasing dependency on human advisors.

“Many investors believe that most of the information presented at the market is not enough for them to take the decision of investing alone,” says Al Ajmi.

Retail investors are now increasingly using AI-driven investment platforms, which are promising them secure and stable returns, citing their cost-effectiveness, simplicity and accessibility.

Covid-19 impacts 

Over the past few years, the online trading world has been gradually moving towards being dominated by AI and machine learning technologies.

Of late, the coronavirus pandemic has greatly accelerated this transition, with retail investors finally beginning to unlock the full potential of these tools.

“I believe that Covid-19 has shown the world that technology is the only saviour,” adds Al Ajmi.

“It accelerated the development phase, in which most trading is being done remotely and without the need to be physically available. During Covid times, a lot of people have become more interested in trading because technology has eased the process of learning and entering the markets.”

Emerging technologies 

In terms of new and emerging technologies, Al Ajmi believes that the focus for the next five years will be on copy trading technology.

“Beginners will have the opportunity to learn from experienced traders and copy their trades from a well-developed app, that will allow people to meet, chat, discover, learn and more.”

The premise of copy trading is as simple as its name suggests, involving tracking and duplicating trades executed by other investors in the financial markets. Copy trading, also known as mirror trading or social trading, allows investors to automatically copy the trades of high-profile investors.

Al Ajmi says this technology will just cost a subscription fee or percentage fee set by the trader.

“Today, any trader who wishes to link his account with any investor can do so through copy trading. This new technology will provide the market with new investors and change the market movement along with its trends.”

The Kuwaiti entrepreneur adds that, while markets are still being swayed by people’s emotions, AI technologies are slowly evolving to be able to interpret these sentiments and patterns.

“The market changes every period; its movement and the method of liquidity in it, and even the strategy of people who trade in the market varies from period to period.”

When there is negative news, he adds, we see the trend shift towards selling, while positive news moves people to buy.

“Programming and the use of technology is based on reading these emotions and interpreting them. I think the behaviour of human traders will be reduced, but their behaviour will remain visible in the market.

“The use of AI and automated trading in the market will be a leap for every trader, as it will manage the risk levels.”

Filling the gap 

Al Ajmi hopes to soon allow VI Markets users to link their accounts with others for programmed copying, in addition to providing tech tools that analyse a client’s position through a report that focuses on their successful strategies.

“VI Markets possesses a huge market share in the Middle East, and most of our clients are asking for this kind of technology and want it launched as soon as possible. So, this [copy trading] is what we will be offering during August, in order to serve our clients with excellence.”

With a well-established presence throughout the region, VI Markets provides investors in Kuwait a tailored online trading service, partnered with One Financial Markets, which was established in London in 2007.

One Financial Markets is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offers global reach with local expertise through its wholly owned and affiliated offices across the Middle East, Europe, South America and Central and Southeast Asia.

Coupling knowledge sharing with the power of AI 

As he believes that anything is possible through education, Al Ajmi is a strong advocate for the untapped opportunities that knowledge sharing can unlock.

Speaking directly to his regional followers via his growing online platforms, Al Ajmi believes this connection serves as an effective means of spreading essential information around online trading.

With terrible advice and bad-faith actors widespread on social media, Al Ajmi decided to bypass traditional marketing channels and speak directly to the public, in a bid to help people make more informed decisions with investing their money online.

“With online webinars, we were able to provide the same quality and content to a bigger audience, being located in different parts of the world without worrying about all the Covid-19 restrictions. This allowed us to reach a huge number of clients and provide them with everything they needed.”

Al Ajmi also believes that the key to success in the world of online trading lies in empowering novice investors in the Middle East through financial education coupled with utilising AI and machine learning technologies.

“This technology will solve many problems and reduce many risks, but I think that the right decision for anyone thinking of investing is to have an understanding of the basics of trading before turning to using this technology only. This will educate those interested in investing and give them a better chance to manage their risks.”

Besides downloadable desktop programmes and smartphone apps for trading, the VI Markets site has a training academy that outlines, in accessible language and textbook detail, concepts such as CFD trading, forex, analysis tools, investor types and, perhaps most importantly, trading psychology.

Shift in investment priorities 

With the rise in robo-advisers, investment priorities are shifting as well, placing great value on more diverse investments. In the MENA region, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are slowly becoming a disruptive force, adding value to the investment sector.

An ETF is an exchange-listed investment fund that may consist stocks, bonds, commodities or other financial assets, which can be bought and sold throughout the trading day. Previously, investing in stock markets meant buying stocks, however ETFs combine the trading flexibility of a stock with the diversification and low costs of a mutual fund.

Investors can track a particular set of equities (stock ETFs); track the price of a commodity (commodity ETFs); invest in currencies (currency ETFs); or gain exposure to various types of bonds (bond ETFs), among other activities.

With the pandemic accelerating public interest in investing and ETFs offering exposure to a basket of stocks at a lower cost and reduced management fees, ETFs have elicited promising responses from first-time investors.

Robo-advisors and AI are playing a key role in this shift, given that they greatly invest in ETFs to give investors broad diversification with low underlying expenses. By selecting different types of ETFs, robo-advisors are helping manage investment returns and market risk with diversification.

Looking ahead

Al Ajmi predicts a slow and steady transition to automated trading, with the upcoming period being mainly focus on copy trade technology aided by human advisor expertise.

“The next three to five years will focus on using copy trading and utilising platforms that have more interactions between dealers in the markets. There will be more use for automated trading and growing reliance of programming on reading, implementing and dealing with data in the market.”

He reiterates that before fully integrating AI into the world of online trading, it is imperative to educate investors about the basics of trading and empowering them to be able to fully utilise these emerging technologies.

By ITP - 2021

Talal Al Ajmi, founder and CEO of VI Markets, shares his insights on how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies are becoming a disruptive and prominent force in the online trading world.

When stock trading first emerged, transactions were carried out on active trading floors filled with brokers and traders, with the key tool driving the reasoning behind these trades being the human brain.

By utilising the pattern-spotting nature of the brain and sequential reasoning, traders communicated verbally to convey trading information, along with their intentions and acceptance of trades in the trading pit.

The services of the human floor trader are gradually becoming redundant as exchanges go virtual, paving the way for individual investors to participate in markets on an equal footing for the first time.

As online trading continues to evolve, Talal Al Ajmi, a young Kuwaiti entrepreneur and CEO and founder of Version International Markets (VI Markets), believes that algorithms and machine learning technologies are the upcoming game-changers for the industry and the new norm for the future.

Mimicking the human brain 

Traditionally, human traders would track the prices of stock and try recalling them, creating memories to form a pattern. AI can do the same task efficiently and can include more data points, mimicking a vital part of the human brain activated when trading.

Algorithmic trading, the most widely used form of AI in the financial industry, uses complex and advanced mathematical models to make transaction decisions on behalf of humans. Rules built into this model attempt to determine the optimal time to trade, with the least repercussions on stock prices.

AI systems operate by crunching through data, trying to find correlations, and teaching themselves how to approximate future outcomes. The process of AI systems repeatedly going through data and trying to learn from it and find insights is known as machine learning.

In other words, by effectively mirroring the approach and patterns of human traders, AI and machine learning are making trading more accessible to a greater number of people by decreasing dependency on human advisors.

“Many investors believe that most of the information presented at the market is not enough for them to take the decision of investing alone,” says Al Ajmi.

Retail investors are now increasingly using AI-driven investment platforms, which are promising them secure and stable returns, citing their cost-effectiveness, simplicity and accessibility.

Covid-19 impacts 

Over the past few years, the online trading world has been gradually moving towards being dominated by AI and machine learning technologies.

Of late, the coronavirus pandemic has greatly accelerated this transition, with retail investors finally beginning to unlock the full potential of these tools.

“I believe that Covid-19 has shown the world that technology is the only saviour,” adds Al Ajmi.

“It accelerated the development phase, in which most trading is being done remotely and without the need to be physically available. During Covid times, a lot of people have become more interested in trading because technology has eased the process of learning and entering the markets.”

Emerging technologies 

In terms of new and emerging technologies, Al Ajmi believes that the focus for the next five years will be on copy trading technology.

“Beginners will have the opportunity to learn from experienced traders and copy their trades from a well-developed app, that will allow people to meet, chat, discover, learn and more.”

The premise of copy trading is as simple as its name suggests, involving tracking and duplicating trades executed by other investors in the financial markets. Copy trading, also known as mirror trading or social trading, allows investors to automatically copy the trades of high-profile investors.

Al Ajmi says this technology will just cost a subscription fee or percentage fee set by the trader.

“Today, any trader who wishes to link his account with any investor can do so through copy trading. This new technology will provide the market with new investors and change the market movement along with its trends.”

The Kuwaiti entrepreneur adds that, while markets are still being swayed by people’s emotions, AI technologies are slowly evolving to be able to interpret these sentiments and patterns.

“The market changes every period; its movement and the method of liquidity in it, and even the strategy of people who trade in the market varies from period to period.”

When there is negative news, he adds, we see the trend shift towards selling, while positive news moves people to buy.

“Programming and the use of technology is based on reading these emotions and interpreting them. I think the behaviour of human traders will be reduced, but their behaviour will remain visible in the market.

“The use of AI and automated trading in the market will be a leap for every trader, as it will manage the risk levels.”

Filling the gap 

Al Ajmi hopes to soon allow VI Markets users to link their accounts with others for programmed copying, in addition to providing tech tools that analyse a client’s position through a report that focuses on their successful strategies.

“VI Markets possesses a huge market share in the Middle East, and most of our clients are asking for this kind of technology and want it launched as soon as possible. So, this [copy trading] is what we will be offering during August, in order to serve our clients with excellence.”

With a well-established presence throughout the region, VI Markets provides investors in Kuwait a tailored online trading service, partnered with One Financial Markets, which was established in London in 2007.

One Financial Markets is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offers global reach with local expertise through its wholly owned and affiliated offices across the Middle East, Europe, South America and Central and Southeast Asia.

Coupling knowledge sharing with the power of AI 

As he believes that anything is possible through education, Al Ajmi is a strong advocate for the untapped opportunities that knowledge sharing can unlock.

Speaking directly to his regional followers via his growing online platforms, Al Ajmi believes this connection serves as an effective means of spreading essential information around online trading.

With terrible advice and bad-faith actors widespread on social media, Al Ajmi decided to bypass traditional marketing channels and speak directly to the public, in a bid to help people make more informed decisions with investing their money online.

“With online webinars, we were able to provide the same quality and content to a bigger audience, being located in different parts of the world without worrying about all the Covid-19 restrictions. This allowed us to reach a huge number of clients and provide them with everything they needed.”

Al Ajmi also believes that the key to success in the world of online trading lies in empowering novice investors in the Middle East through financial education coupled with utilising AI and machine learning technologies.

“This technology will solve many problems and reduce many risks, but I think that the right decision for anyone thinking of investing is to have an understanding of the basics of trading before turning to using this technology only. This will educate those interested in investing and give them a better chance to manage their risks.”

Besides downloadable desktop programmes and smartphone apps for trading, the VI Markets site has a training academy that outlines, in accessible language and textbook detail, concepts such as CFD trading, forex, analysis tools, investor types and, perhaps most importantly, trading psychology.

Shift in investment priorities 

With the rise in robo-advisers, investment priorities are shifting as well, placing great value on more diverse investments. In the MENA region, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are slowly becoming a disruptive force, adding value to the investment sector.

An ETF is an exchange-listed investment fund that may consist stocks, bonds, commodities or other financial assets, which can be bought and sold throughout the trading day. Previously, investing in stock markets meant buying stocks, however ETFs combine the trading flexibility of a stock with the diversification and low costs of a mutual fund.

Investors can track a particular set of equities (stock ETFs); track the price of a commodity (commodity ETFs); invest in currencies (currency ETFs); or gain exposure to various types of bonds (bond ETFs), among other activities.

With the pandemic accelerating public interest in investing and ETFs offering exposure to a basket of stocks at a lower cost and reduced management fees, ETFs have elicited promising responses from first-time investors.

Robo-advisors and AI are playing a key role in this shift, given that they greatly invest in ETFs to give investors broad diversification with low underlying expenses. By selecting different types of ETFs, robo-advisors are helping manage investment returns and market risk with diversification.

Looking ahead

Al Ajmi predicts a slow and steady transition to automated trading, with the upcoming period being mainly focus on copy trade technology aided by human advisor expertise.

“The next three to five years will focus on using copy trading and utilising platforms that have more interactions between dealers in the markets. There will be more use for automated trading and growing reliance of programming on reading, implementing and dealing with data in the market.”

He reiterates that before fully integrating AI into the world of online trading, it is imperative to educate investors about the basics of trading and empowering them to be able to fully utilise these emerging technologies. 

By ITP - 2021