Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
For many seasoned forex traders, the last few decades have felt like a long, hot, slog through purgatory; burned by untrustworthy brokerages and watching helplessly as profit slips through their fingers. Those who survived are, in many ways, the wounded warriors of forex: down, but not beaten. Weary and battle-worn, but not defeated.
Because, as General Custer advises all those who’ve met with defeat: It’s not how many times you get knocked down that count, it’s how many times you get back up.
In 2011, after establishing the Wealth Management Company, Arif Alexander felt the first tremors of change. Once he’d partnered with Michael Buchbinder, the two forged ahead to build a company based on the shared values of integrity and trust, putting client needs at the top of their list of priorities.
It wasn’t an easy decision. After working for years in the traditional forex industries, both Arif and Michael knew all the obstacles, boobytraps, and landmines they would have to traverse if they wanted to create a clear path to success for their clients. But they could not ignore the whispers that soon turned into cries for change: traders detailing all the ways they’d been cheated, mislead, and bilked. They were losing money – lots of money – and didn’t know whom they could trust.
They couldn’t track, or even define, the success or failure of their efforts. Even worse, they suspected there was nobody they could turn to.
Because of their own firsthand knowledge of the industry, Arif and Michael knew the forex playbook well. And that hard-fought wisdom – combined with brutal, boots-on-the-ground, experience – is what inspired them to build for a new type of forex brokerage.
This was a cathartic moment – a grand epiphany.
They wondered, “How can we rehabilitate the forex industry and help traders succeed?”
Delving deeper, they began to question the brokerage-trader relationship at its core. We all know forex is a heady, enticing game – full of quick deals and high hopes, and more than a little bit of chicanery. Arif and Michael wondered how, in this increasingly dishonest and insubstantial forex work, where traders are beholden to confusing fee schedules and fly-by-night companies that evaporate (deposits and all) overnight, they might reintroduce trust and integrity?
In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic hall located in Asgard and ruled over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat are chosen by Odin to travel to Valhalla upon death. These lucky soldiers, led by valkyries, join legendary Germanic heroes and kings in this shining, golden land. It is a respite for the battle-weary and a bright dawn for those who are tired of fighting and have earned the glories of a new day.
The modern Scandinavian business model builds on the idea of Valhalla because it lives on a framework of security and honesty. In Sweden’s new Valhalla, customers are returned to an unharmed state, safe and secure as their guardians man the gates. In Sweden, the sins of the past are gone, but not forgotten. Solid bulwarks have been erected, and businesses – specifically investments, finance, and banking – operate under strict rules and guidelines so that everyone is on an equal playing field.
Valhalla is the vast hall guarded by wolves. It’s the cornucopia overflowing with fruits and wine. It’s long feasting tables and five hundred doors, through which endless abundance flows, capable of satisfying any thirst.
Scandinavian Capital Markets is building a forex Valhalla. The focus of Scandinavian Capital Market’s Valhalla experience is the person, not the profit. Other brokerages see traders as numbers on a spreadsheet’s profit center to be milked dry.
The Valhalla experience, on the other hand, is all about the human side. It starts with treating clients like partners. The entire Scandinavian Capital Markets team works as one to serve them better to help them achieve their goals. Valhalla was designed to help make traders win.
More than just icing on the cake, being located in Sweden allows Scandinavian Capital Markets to provide a high-end experience to clients. The cultural aspects of Stockholm – the food, the spas, the people – are unmatched anywhere in the world. Sweden offers respite and reinvigoration, just like those ancient visitors to Valhalla.
Scandinavian Capital Markets is committed to engaging with clients that want service and quality for sustainable business. Imagine flying business or first class to Stockholm, booking an appointment at a nurturing, Swedish spa, and ending your day with a meal at a high-end restaurant and full night of restful sleep. Imagine laying your head on the pillow and knowing your business day ahead finds you working with a team of committed partners, ready to listen and plan with you. Imagine you are once again made whole – you can trust, you can rise again.