Profile Questionnaire
Firm Name: Eagle Way Capital LLC
Year Founded: 2009
Number of Brokers: 3
Primary Registration Category: We are an independent IB, futures ad forex. We are also a CTA, currently with a single managed account program that operates either as a forex or currency futures program.
NIBA Member Since: 2012
Address (City, State): 152 Chambers Street New York, NY 10007
Total Number of Branch Offices & Locations: Main Office—Lincroft NJ; Branch 1—NYC; Branch 2—Bayonne NJ
Other Registrations: Dan Uslander is a registered rep of a securities broker dealer, but Eagle Way Capital has no other registrations.
NFA Reg #: 0403226
Primary Markets Traded: FX and precious metals
How did you get started? I started at the CBOT in 1979; migrated to the NYMEX in 1983 and have been in NYC ever since.
How did the firm get started? We wanted to create an IB with a strong FX/Metals emphasis, but with the ability to go beyond the capabilities of the usual retail forex platforms.
Does the firm provide additional services besides brokerage? We are compliance consultants: disclosure documents, CTA due diligence, IB and CTA set ups with the NFA, branch office inspections and third party AML testing.
What are the biggest challenges your clients face today? On the managed side, the biggest challenge for our clients is finding quality products with low minimums. We believe the potential market is much bigger than the actual market in part because entry points are very high relative to entry points in competing asset classes that deploy just as much intellectual capital. We work hard to make sure our managed FX program works for any size account.
On the IB side, we would like to convert many more FX traders to futures, so the greatest challenge our clients face is how to move into futures while keeping costs contained. The forex trader does not pay for software that allows him or her to automate strategies, nor does he pay for historical data. Cost considerations will sometimes slow down a forex trader who is otherwise interested in futures.
What does the firm do to help meet those challenges? We try and partner with firms that offer the greatest value.
How has the futures and options industry evolved since you first started in business? I started in the business in 1979 and before that I was monitoring futures markets as a research assistant at the Federal Reserve starting in 1977, so there is not enough time or space here to answer that, except to say there are now highly sophisticated individuals running strategies that were previously only attempted at the institutional level. You are almost as likely to find cutting edge strategies working in an individual’s account as you are on a prop desk.
What do you believe to be the keys to the firm’s success? How to market; how to get our name out and how to get in front of the right people has always been the most difficult part of this business.
What trends are you most excited about? The market has become so democratized—high quality accounts can come from virtually anywhere in the world.
What trends are you most worried about? I think that the NFA needs to do a reset and reconsider priorities as well as try to anticipate where the next problems may be (hint: interest rate swaps).
Why did you become a member of the NIBA? We IBs need a voice and the NIBA is a fantastic platform for all of us.
Contact: Daniel Uslander