‘An exciting time to be part of FXDD’

Hailing from a little Croatian island on the Adriatic Sea, living in the Mediterranean came naturally to Toni Storic, BackOffice Administrator at FXDD, who relocated to Malta in 2019.

Delving into his academic background before making the move, Toni explains that he was heavily involved in water sports, particularly water polo, which he played professionally in Croatia before securing an academic and sports scholarship to study at Lindenwood University in the United States.

“My undergraduate degree was actually in Sports Management focused on finance in sports, the business side of sports and its history,” he affirms, adding that after graduating and taking a few months off to decide on the next step, he decided to further his education, and read for a Master’s of Finance in Business Administration.

Throughout his studies, Toni worked in a small wealth management company while continuing to play water polo – a factor which, he says, played a massive part in his decision to move to Malta.

“My wife and I moved to Malta in July 2019 after spending nine years in the United States,” he recalls, noting that the decision was a relatively spontaneaous one. “During my last semester in college, a young Maltese student joined the team and would often joke about how I should move to Malta. He later introduced me to his father, and they had nothing but nice things to say about Malta. It started as a joke, but my wife and I decided to give it a shot, and we absolutely love it here.”

Noting that he first became familiar with forex trading while completing his Master’s, it wasn’t until he joined FXDD that he really expanded on the initial learning. “FXDD has been my first and only stop in the forex trading industry,” he maintains, affirming that “completing two degrees and planting my feet firmly on the ground with a job in FXDD feel like my landmark career moments so far.”

Starting out with the company in September 2019, the BackOffice Administrator describes the experience as “amazing” so far, noting that it feels like being a part of a family. “Everyone has been extremely helpful with adjusting to life in Malta and very friendly,” he says, adding that from a career standpoint, “the company encourages everybody to build on their roles, to further our education, and improve our careers. We all love to have a good time and it feels as if I could have not found a better fit.”

Describing his role within the foreign exchange trading provider, Toni defines himself as a point of reference between different departments in the company. “It feels like my role has developed over time and has been moulded to best fit the company’s needs,” he asserts, noting that what started as a role responsible for administrating software that is used to set up clients’ accounts and for reporting has now seen him be entrusted with more complex reporting to the compliance department. He has also formed part of various internal projects to help streamline internal policies.

“I absolutely love taking on projects and tackling issues that have been an obstacle for a long time. It can be quite challenging because it involves a lot of ‘head banging on the wall’ to cover all bases, but I truly relish the challenge and working with others to come up with the best possible solution,” he jokes.

Turning his attention to Robinhood, the trading app that’s been on everyone’s lips in recent weeks, Toni states that while FXDD does not get directly involved with such platforms, it is interesting to keep track of, despite feeling that “it has probably been blown out of proportion and we can already see all kinds of conspiracy theories floating around.”

Commenting on the situation, which saw Robinhood freeze trades for GameStop while Wall Street was in a frenzy for the video game retailer’s stock, Toni admits that the criticism such action drew could be down to bad PR, but for the moment, it remains unclear.

“It is quite interesting to follow ‘meme stocks’ such as GameStop and AMC, etc, and the influence of social media on the stock market. We have yet to see how long this trend will persist however, and if it will continue to have an impact on the industry,” he says.

And while FXDD’s involvement is limited at present, Toni hints that “the company is currently undergoing somewhat of a shift into this market in the near future, and it will be very interesting to see the reaction of brokers as well as regulators.”

Looking ahead, Toni says, “this is a very exciting time to be part of this team. The company is embarking on an interesting journey with the launch of new products and brands.” On a personal level, he continues, “this growth is also being reflected in the different responsibilities which I am being entrusted with, and this is proving to be quite significant in my professional growth. I am looking forward to being part of this journey.”