On the evening of Tuesday 15^th October, the School of Finance and Applied Economics was honored to host an International Financial Markets Workshop on Futures trading in Kenya. The workshop saw representatives from Futures First (formerly GHF Group) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) give insight into the global futures trading world and the relevance of Kenya, as a frontier trading hub in Africa.

 

For the workshop participants from Strathmore University, JKUAT, Old Mutual and UoN, this was an opportunity to appreciate the dynamics of financial markets in terms of the different market segments, market participants as well as the existing types of markets. This part of the session was facilitated by the CME Group (www.cmegroup.com)– the world’s largest futures exchange dealer with a market capitalization of $25 billion (Kshs. 2.125 trillion). The CME is present in all continents except Africa and this explains the interest in partnering with firms like Futures First (www.futuresfirst.com) which is setting base in Kenya at Delta Plaza in Nairobi.

 

The session was also a great platform for students to get exposure on career opportunities available at Futures First Group and even receive guidance on applying for the positions currently available. One of the newly recruited traders, the youngest of all, gave his experience right from the selection process and his insightful words sparked great interest from the audience.  His background in Law, having graduated from Law School in May this year, was enough evidence that anyone interested can make a good trader regardless of their area of study.

 

Towards the end, there was a presentation on ‘Reasons to be a trader’ that included: job satisfaction, friendly work environment and hefty financial rewards (annual bonuses of up to Kshs.100 million). Nevertheless, one has to contend with the difficulty of trading profitably, uncertainty in markets as well as unusual work hours from 11a.m to 9p.m.

The success of the event was a source of great delight for members of SUFFESA (Strathmore University Finance and Financial Economics Students’ Association) who worked closely with the Faculty in organizing the workshop and making it a success.

 

Written by Bill Michael Oloo and Lynda Wamuthiani