I have been fortunate to be part of an industry that is forever changing. It is constantly growing; growing productwise as well as growing products within existing product. Some of these new products must be supported by new markets, other are housed in older markets that suddenly sprout new trading venues. The expansion of the industry’s financial infrastructure migrated into new geographical locations and within these newly developed financial centers comes their own domestic growth, which feeds back into the new markets. This is all caused, in part, by advancements in technology that have permitted questions to be answered faster, complicated computations to be performed in seconds, and countries’ borders to disappear. The question is: Does this growth fuel the advancement in technology or does the advancement in technology fuel this growth? This is and will continue to be debated for years to come.
As the industry advances to new horizons, current rules and regulations must be altered and new rules and regulations promulgated when and where needed. Globalization of the markets has introduced a new need—standardization of these rules and regulations so that barriers are removed and transactions flow in a borderless environment.
Even before there was an information highway, the industry has always provided those curious with educational material. The phrase “seek and ye shall find” had been part of my work ethic from day one. As the years pass, obtaining information became easier due to my employment status and the industries’ technical advancements. My daily e-mails contain notification alerts, newsletters, and bulletins from various industry organizations and general informational documents. And of course there is the Web, where richly pertinent information abounds for those truly interested and make the effort to seek it.
During my varied career I have met and worked with many colleagues who took the time to explain the many different aspects of the industry. I thank them for their time and more than that: their patience. I owe a debt of gratitude to the individuals and institutions that extended employment opportunities to me over the years. I trust they view their investment in me as well worth the exercise.
As I have done in my previous books, as well as in seminars and lectures that I have conducted, I would like to take this time to share this information. I hope this book accomplishes that task.
Thank you.