Ivan Delgado is the protagonist of the second post dedicated to our team of Analysts. The aim of this set of articles, written first-hand by their own protagonists, is to know more about how they became Forex experts, their day-to-day from different spots around the world, and specially about themselves. After Valeria Bednarik, we give the floor to Ivan. We hope you like them!
“As I imagine it must be the case for the vast majority of Forex practitioners, be it traders, strategists, analysts, editors, my first steps in this ever-evolving profession came somehow by accident, although as I look back, I feel truly blessed having bumped into such an intellectually challenging field, allowing me to breath FX day in and day out.
Why Forex?
Well, I recently visited Sydney with my wife, and had the opportunity to share some precious time with John Noonan, Head of IFR FX Markets for Reuters, who made the following analogy, ‘Forex is like a puzzle game’, referring to the endless variables, adding that as analysts/editors, ‘we have to methodically dissect and put that puzzle together.’ The mental and intellectual challenge that Forex represents was always my main driver, as it is its ever-changing environment, one that for those of us truly immersed in the profession, provides lots of fun! Although one thing is certain, around my inner circle (family, friends, etc) I can count on the fingers of one hand those that would pay attention to what I am doing for longer than a few minutes, that, I am afraid my friends, is the cruel reality touching close to home to most of us.
First steps in the market
Now, a bit about my beginning in the market. I first heard of Forex back in 2007 while on a 1-year gap trip to Australia following the conclusion of my studies at the University- completed 5y Business/Business Adm degree -. A close friend sent me a bunch of educational FX docs asking me to have a read through as he had in mind some projects and wanted my collaboration. I went through, read all of it over and over, and something just clicked, hard to describe as it is to explain what one feels when falling in love (you just know it), then I opened up a demo MT4 account, pulled up the charts, and from that moment onwards, I was officially hooked up.
Upon my return to Barcelona, where I am from, I did my best to engage in months and months of heavy FX study (8-10h/day) through sites the likes of Babypips, ForexFactory, FXStreet, while at the same time, I realized that the latter had its head-quarters near my hometown. Again, my bulb went on, and I got in touch with Francesc Riverola, our President – CEO at the time -, introducing myself in hope of some future job opportunity. About 6 months later, that FXStreet call came, and there I was, landing a position to work during the overnight (in Spain) Asian shift.
Covering Asian markets in situ
It’s been 5-6 years since then – lost count -, and plenty has happened. On a personal note, since covering Asian markets from Spain was simply unsustainable (21pm to 6am shifts!), I moved to Thailand first (spent 2 years there), until I met who became my wife (from Indonesia), and we both migrated to Bali, now heading into my 3rd year. We are now trying to have our first child – it’s been 2 unsuccessful years so far, so IVF looms near…, – although having recently housed a puppy -golden retriever -, it brings us plenty of joy while waiting for mother nature to do its magic. On my leisure time, I enjoy surfing – Bali has some great spots -, walking my dog at the beach, having a drink during sunset, reading, riding my ‘ninja’ bike across Bali and explore the world.
On a more professional note, since I have always taken pride of being a solid student of my passions, the expansion of high-standards in market knowledge simply became a natural process, although I still rely on my daily fix of caffeine to kick things off every morning, especially being an early bird, as I must routinely wake up at 4-4.30am (Val’s club). Technically, I’ve been mentored in the art of Ichimoku and price action analysis, while adding thousands of hours of screen time to perfect my craft and gain an unteachable component, that is, experience – no shortcuts I am afraid-.
My usual day involves running up-to-minute Forex news -these days Abenomics is keeping us busy -, always making sure that publications are kept as relevant and insightful as possible for our targeted retail audience. Forex is a boldly hard game, and people are being sold on the fact that its easy, so from my position, I assist to filter through the storm of daily headlines and the latest technical/fundamental developments, aiming to provide quality commentary for our audience.”