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Currency trading can yield significant higher returns (100%) than traditional investment vehicles, such as the stock market. The success in currency or forex trading not only relies on understanding of the world’s largest financial market, but also relies on the cutting edge technology and a set of knowledge that matches that of a professional trader with many years of experience.

Invest a few life-changing hours and discover a complete approach to trading that will give the ability to trade with the skill and  confidence of the pros.

Ashraf Noor is Futuretrend’s Forex trainer. He is a Professional Forex trader and analyst with over 12 years of Forex trading experience, currently he provides daily Forex trade analyses to investors and manages the online trading floor.  


He is also a founder of London City Trading a dynamic Forex technical trading company which helps retail traders by providing coaching, training and funding through the online trading

for more info on our Forex training and mentoring  please visit us at Forex Training and Mentoring

RPA: Why IT folk should sit up and take note!

Yes,  I’m talking to you Project Managers and Business Analysts !

“Change is coming and will impact how business is conducted in ways we are not able to comprehend today”.  This is a statement amplified by the Shared Services and Outsourcing Network (SSON)’s 2019 industry survey.

Fact: intelligent automation is the fastest-growing technology with the greatest power for disruption and will replace higher-level cognitive human abilities with a far greater capacity for volume, analysis, accuracy and consistency.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a software-based technology utilising software robots to emulate human execution of a business process. This means that it performs the task on a computer, uses the same interface a human worker would, clicks, types, opens applications, uses keyboard shortcuts, and more.

It is most suitable for rules-driven, data-intensive processes, that are repetitive in nature, e.g. execution of data entry into SAP or other ERP, systems or a full end-to-end business process. In a nutshell, it can help organisations optimize various work-flow processes that can be performed against a set of business rules programmed to start and stop at a specific time.

Right now RPA is having such a significant impact on business strategic objectives and futuristic goals more than any other point in time. The question is why has RPA taken so long to gain the momentum its currently enjoying?

The answer comes as no shocker to me. They say change is the most constant thing in life, but humans have this sometimes-subconscious state of mind whereby we pose a resistance to the simplest of change(s) occurring in and around our surroundings, and the workplace is a primary example of this.

From the Board of Directors being understandably jittery when making key decisions regarding changes to their strategic objectives and goals  given that they know each decision could potentially take the business to the next level in terms of its ROI, reputation and market share value, but also send them down under if things happen to go wrong, down to employees worried about how these changes could impact their lives overall i.e. salary and employee benefits, well-being, their specific job roles, hierarchical position at the company, and most importantly; job security.

It is no surprise that the biggest barrier to RPA deployment within organisations thus far has centred around the perceived notion that human jobs will be affected by it. Critics argue that the widespread elimination of jobs will occur and that working environments will be turned on their heads. There is no denying that some jobs will be replaced by RPA, the most likely candidate being people tasked with data entry responsibilities. However, this would be ignoring the wider picture as there are a wide array of job roles that may emerge because of RPA.

Historically, new technology has almost always resulted in the creation of more jobs, and the widespread incorporation of RPA will be no different. For example, RPA engineering and RPA developers are roles that wouldn’t exist without the technology. It won’t just create new jobs, it also has the ability to enhance current jobs, by providing human workers with the necessary robotic process automation tools to focus on high-value tasks. One of the major draws of RPA is that it enables automatable work, relieving human workers from repetitive clerical processes such as data entry and data manipulation, allowing human workers to focus on complex value-adding tasks that elevate a business.

Also, it aids the reduction in human error and costs. Foibles to which human workers are prone, particularly during long repetitive tasks caused by tiredness and boredom are completely mitigated with RPA. This results in work that is more accurate, timely and consistent, ensuring that time and money isn’t lost correcting old work or creating duplicates. It is important to also highlight that it is easy to configure so developers do not need programming skills. RPA interfaces work much like Visio, by dragging, dropping and linking icons that represent steps in a process. Code is generated automatically behind the scenes.

Furthermore, one of the most significant benefits of RPA is that the software is non-invasive as it sits on top of existing systems without the need to create, replace, or further develop other platforms. RPA software accesses other computer systems through user interfaces with a login ID and password (like a human) and through the presentation layer, so no underlying systems programming logic is touched.

Recently, I was having an interesting conversation about RPA with a very good friend of mine, an expert in Civil Engineering who works with one of the world’s leading firms in infrastructural design and development, with regards to the prospects of RPA and the potential impacts on busines strategies going forward. He gave a candid insight on the topic during this fantastic lengthy discussion. He laid emphasis regarding the uncertainties surrounding businesses and how key decisions are currently been driven by fast-paced innovative technological developments on a global scale, as well as the need for organisations to stay competitive.Thus, business decisions such as fully embracing intelligent automation although may lead to cutting off some human resources, the underlying fact is that it may be the most suitable approach in achieving business goals going forward in terms of being cost-efficient and maintaining a steady ROI.

Estimates vary, but employees can spend anywhere from 25-45% of their time on manual activities that could be automated. Entrenched “bad” practices are a common culprit along with insufficient process discipline. One solution to these “processing” ills can certainly be the application of RPA, which follows rules, is standardized and does not make mistakes. Identifying the right process, however, is the single most important step in ensuring a successful RPA implementation. (SSON’s 2019 industry report confirms “wrong process selection” as the leading cause of RPA project failure.)

The ideal candidate process for RPA is rules-based (thus easily encoded), repetitive, manual, routine, and involves steps with easy identification of exceptions. In addition, the data should be structured (i.e., easily accessible and consistently formatted). In identifying optimal candidates for RPA, look for where rigid applications don’t integrate with systems, creating blockages. The wins here are about capturing the low hanging fruit to demonstrate the validity of the solution, drive results, and build internal experience and competencies.

A common mistake is to choose a process that causes the greatest headaches. This is often a highly complex, multi-step process where automation, it is believed, will simply make the problem go away. This rarely works as the complexity of the process frequently prevents building a more fully automated solution in a timely manner. This approach can quickly get bogged down, giving RPA a bad name and resulting in perceived “failure” that could have been avoided with more strategic foresight in evaluating the process.

In summary, thinking back to the GDPR storm 3 years ago that swept all of Europe. A lot of IT Professionals (i.e Business Analysts and Project Managers) were not well-prepared both skill and knowledge wise, to take on the enormous amount of GDPR projects that became suddenly available. As a result, they eventually missed out on sizable pay packages and huge job opportunities.

Also significant is the fact that the recent victory of the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with his Brexit deal in the House of Parliament ensures that the UK will leave the European Union come the 31st of January 2020, and negotiations currently slated to be concluded by the 31st of December 2020 according to the Article 50 agreements, will play a massive role in influencing business strategies going forward, and simply points to the fact that businesses may well be entering an era of financial perplexity.

Hence, as Business Analysts or Project Managers the question we should be asking ourselves at the moment is, do we wait for the wave to sweep us away unprepared like the GDPR storm took us by surprise, or do we embrace RPA and start preparing and equipping ourselves in this ever-changing digital world?

If you are interested in learning more about our RPA training  please click here

Article by Tammy T  Futuretrend’s RPA course consultant  see his bio here

Calling all CeMAP qualified students…The Money Hub is hiring!

Recruitment drive is on at one of our Mortgage industry contacts.
Please see details and how to make contact below:

If you are seeking a new challenge we have a brilliant opportunity for fully qualified CeMap advisers to join our thriving mortgage brokers working from our offices in Hadleigh, Essex.

The Money Hub is Directly Authorised and we offer our clients a full range of products including mortgages, loans, insurance, bridging and commercial finance. As a Cemap qualified Adviser with The Moneyhub you’ll be able to develop your career and enjoy the benefits of working under a successful organisation that provides the support necessary to help you achieve success.

We will provide you with:

  • Pre screened qualified leads from our own website
  • Excellent in-depth training and ongoing compliance support
  • A generous commission split with a high level of uncapped earnings
  • Administration support
  • Access to CRM & sourcing systems

A successful candidate must:

  • Be pro-active, driven and hard working
  • Be outgoing and able to create a good rapport with clients
  • Be professional and knowledgeable
  • Adhere to the company and industry compliance standards
  • Be able to call clients who require assistance sometimes in the evenings and weekends

This is mainly a telephone based role although if you wish to meet with clients you can.

THIS IS A SELF EMPLOYED ROLE – Commissions will be paid on a weekly basis

Expected target earnings £43,200 to £55,000

IF INTERESTED PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE ON 0203 725 5830 AND ASK FOR MATTHEW.
don’t forget to mention that you got the hook up from Futuretrend. our cemap website and course details can be found here www.cemap123.co.uk

CEMAP Study: What is TCF?

TCF (Treating customers Fairly) was introduced to make firms focus on how they treat their customers and in particular ensure customers are treated fairly. If you are a CeMAP student you can expect a few questions to arise from this area

All authorised firms must comply with the 11 principles for Business and while quite a few of them are relevant to how firms treat their customers it is principle 6 that is most associated with TCF and for CeMAP Study and Exam purposes it makes sense to have a good understanding of this. You will normally come across this when you start studying CeMAP 1 unit 2 of UK financial regulations.
Principle 6 states that a firm must pay due regard to the interest of its customers and treat them fairly.

TCF means treating customers fairly, irrespective of how they contact you or what product they have. It needs to be embedded within a firm’s culture

How should firms deal with TCF on a daily basis?

Firms are required to adopt TCF as their guiding principle so it becomes part of their culture. Everyone should be part of it from the board through to the senior management and all the way through the organisation.

The responsibility for implementing TCF lies with a firm’s board and senior management.

Areas where a firm could consider embedding TCF:

– Corporate strategy and culture.
– Product design and governance.
– Financial promotions
– Sales and advice.
– Consumer information and services
– Complaint handling
– Firms need to be polite and professional. They will need to be clear and transparent with customers however, that doesn’t mean a customer will always they always get what they want.

TCF is based on principles rather than rules. The regulator has therefore defined 6 consumer outcomes. It is important to pay attention and learn more about how these outcomes can be applied practically for your CeMAP Study and exams

  1. Consumers can be confident that they are dealing with firms where the fair treatment of customers is central to the corporate culture. A good example is how we reward staff. This should not  just be with pay but with bonuses,  incentives (like health, fitness well-being) etc. If all staff compensation is just based on sales alone for instance, there is a risk that a significant amount of unsuitable sales will be generated as a consequence
  2. Products and services marketed and sold in the retail market are designed to meet the needs of identified consumer groups and are targeted appropriately. Taking customers opinions into consideration during the design process and checking to see if sales, cancellations etc met expectations. Also reviewing different groups of customers to ensure communications are enabling them to buy products which suits their needs and not the other way round.
  3. Consumers are provided with clear information and are kept appropriately informed before, during and after a sale. For example, when a customers fixed rate  period ends and their mortgage rate changes. Many customers feel aggrieved that they weren’t given due notice of this by their mortgage broker.
  4. Where customers receive advice; the advice must be suitable and take full account of their circumstances. For instance, It would be ideal to make product literature available in braille format for someone who has a visual impairment.
  5. Consumers are provided with products that perform as firms have led them to expect and the associated service is both of an acceptable standard and as they have been led to expect.. This simply means that firms can’t create false expectations or package things in a way that will lead to the consumer being misled.
  6. Consumers do not face unreasonable post-sale barriers imposed by firms to change product, switch provider submit a claim or make a complaint. For example, regarding switching provider a firm could easily impose long notice periods, onerous information demands, communication difficulties and even administrative delays in order to frustrate the customer

So we have looked at the 6 Consumer outcomes expected from TCF. This should help illuminate this important section found in  CeMAP 1 Unit 2

For further help with CeMAP please see our dedicated CeMAP 123 website and info on our regular CeMAP training courses or  CeMAP Home study support

CeMAP Tutorial: The role of estate agents

When studying for your CeMAP 2 exam knowledge of the purchase process is crucial.
We have created this quick video tutorial to help you lock down the key points around the role of estate agents in the mortgage  process.

In the CeMAP exam you can always expect a few questions in and around this. Video tutorials like this can make the CeMAP learning process much easier

If you are interested in gaining access to more videos like this and other resources to help you pass your CeMAP exam  then  have a look at our home study CeMAP course available on our dedicated CeMAP web site:

http://www.cemap123.co.uk/homestudy/index.html

The training course covers CeMAP 1, 2 & 3 and has been written and designed by experienced CeMAP tutors; Our CeMAP Home Study programme simplifies all the essential subject areas of the CeMAP syllabus giving you the confidence to pass the CeMAP exam first time.

 

New Software Testing and Business Analyst Work Experience and Mentoring Programme launched

Latest Work Experience Project for Software Testers and Business Analysts

There’s only so much studying that you can do towards landing that dream job.The truth is that the more project experience you have the better prepared you will be when it comes to facing tough questions at your interview.
online meeting of BA's and QA's

BA Wireframes

We have now launched a new project to help give you that experience you need. These are the project details:
The Client is aiming to develop a comprehensive payroll engine that is Fully Customizable, Platform independent with User-friendly interfaces.
The IT team must develop a system that can focus on the core area of resource management and other administrative activities related to the human resource department. The application must provide an easy, accurate and timely retrieval of Employee and activity-oriented information through menu-driven, user-friendly operations.
The Payroll software must be designed to meet the information need of all levels of Management and facilitate Decision Support, Planning, Monitoring, Control of Daily Activities.

The Software should intake all the raw data of an organization and mould it into a powerful strategic management tool. The Software should enable managers to better understand what exactly is happening in the workforce, given the fact that managers have less time to analyse events within the organization, react and take a quick but correct decision.
Software must help in this aspect by giving a graphical analysis of the data required.

Besides developing the project following the industry best practices, participants will get an opportunity to learn, familiarise and work on complex processes used across the board in many accounting/HR and financial  organisations.

Business analyst use cases

We are now inviting aspiring Business Analysts, Project Coordinators and Software Testers to join the project and get a feel for working on a  live application with various modules being built.

There is huge scope for team members to develop  a wide range of skills being involved in a project like this (including FRD, BRD, SCope doc, UC, User stories, UML, RTM, Change management, Project backlog,
Test Plan, Test cases, Test reports, Defect management etc)…and get valuable work references as well.

We are now taking registrations from aspiring Business Analysts and Quality Assurance Analysts (Software Testers) for this programme. If you want to be part of this exciting team please sign up before September 10th 2017.

Remember, there is no need to visit our training centre to participate as everything is done online. As long as you have access to the internet and time available in the evenings to attend meetings then you will be just fine.the testers use Jira for defect tracking

For more details of what our work experience and mentoring program involves please visit  our dedicated web page for this here:
http://www.careertesters.com/work-experience-mentoring.html

New Work Experience Project for Software Testers and Business Analysts Launched (Cohort 7)

Latest Work Experience Project for Software Testers and Business Analysts

We’ve been listening to what our students have been saying and now we’ve got the ideal project for those looking to build their experience in the financial/insurance domain.online meeting of BA's and QA's

BA WireframesThe Software application being built enables insurance companies to analyze claims, surrendering of policies, loans against insurance, processing payouts and many other related features.

Various insurance specialists based on function, role and expertise will access the software for compiling, manipulating, displaying and transforming insurance data.

The software will handle business from the initial quote through to renewal, supporting all types of Insurance.
A full suite of tools is to be included to manage ratings, equations, referrals and business logic.

The software also simplifies and accelerates claim submission and payment processes. It incorporates complete claim life-cycles, from FNOL (first notice of loss) through to reimbursement.  claims will be managed using a variety of tools, including Mobile App technology for submission, dedicated claims areas for agents, brokers and claims administrators.

Besides developing the project following the industry best practices, participants will get an opportunity to learn, familiarise and work on complex processes used across the board in many insurance and financial insurance organizations.

Business analyst use cases

We are now inviting aspiring Business Analysts, Project Coordinators, Software Testers to join the project and get a feel for working on a  live application with various modules being built.

There is huge scope for team members to develop  a wide range of skills being involved in a project like this (including FRD, BRD, SCope doc, UC, User stories, UML, RTM, Change management, Project backlog,
Test Plan, Test cases, Test reports, Defect management etc)…and get valuable work references as well.

We are now taking registrations from aspiring Business Analysts and Quality Assurance Analysts (Software Testers) for this programme. If you want to be part of this exciting team please sign up before July 7th 2017.

Remember, there is no need to visit our training centre to participate as everything is done online. As long as you have access to the internet and time available in the evenings to attend meetings then you will be just fine.the testers use Jira for defect tracking

For more details of what our work experience and mentoring program involves please visit  our dedicated web page for this here:
http://www.careertesters.com/work-experience-mentoring.html

CeMAP questions from our Virtual Learning Zone (Part 6)

This is not only a fantastic resource for  post classroom or distance learning CeMAP study but also provides a whole years access to an eco-system of like-minded folk. and if a tutor is too busy (as was the case with the query below…both CeMAP tutors David and Malik were teaching at the time); what you will find is that there are always other students ready to help;

This months CeMAP query comes from Richard currently studying CeMAP 2.

Richards’s Question:

Morning all,

May be I’m being a bit thick here (!!) But I need help understanding the below please.

I need assistance with the deed of postponement, relating to second charges. In the notes it states:-

To set aside a 2nd mortgage, the original lender requires a deed of postponement that MUST be executed. The D.O.P will postpone the 2nd charge, and make it possible for the original lender to “Tack” a subsequent mortgage (third charge) to an original one.

Errm, can someone help my brain comprehend this please?

Thanks,
Richard

James recently completed his CeMAP Fast Track training with us and came to Richards rescue.

James’s answer:

Hi there,

It’s all to do with the order that payments will be allocated in the event of a repossession, the first charge (original mortgage) will be paid first, then the second charge, and if there’s a shortfall then the second charge lender is at more risk of losing their money than the first charge lender.

If the original lender wishes to increase their lending, that will be added to the original loan, and will be repaid in the event of a repossession before the second charge lender receives their money, so they would need a deed of postponement from the second charge lender to make sure that they agree to that happening, if they believe that it would be too much of a risk then they won’t agree to it.

An example:

Original mortgage is £100,000, there’s a second charge loan for £25,000, totalling £125,000 borrowing secured on a £200,000 property.

The customer approaches their first charge lender to borrow an additional £50,000, this would take the total borrowing to £175,000, the original lender can be pretty confident that their £150,000 can be repaid if the house is repossessed, but if property values drop and the house can only be sold for £160,000 then the original lender will have received their money back, but the second charge lender will have lost £15,000. 

The deed of postponement gives the second charge lender the chance to refuse to allow the additional borrowing to be tacked on to the loan that will be repaid before they are able to reclaim their money.

Hope that helps,
Give me a shout at www.cemap123.co.uk  if you need any more clarification.

New Work Experience Cohort for Business Analysts and Software Testers Launched

Here’s a chance for aspiring Business Analysts and Software Testers to get stuck into some real online meeting of BA's and QA'slive work experience!

BA Wireframes
The most recent project which started on February 6th has been extended due to additional requirements. The project involved building an e-commerce platform where Corporates, Individuals, and families can interact digitally with professional,  certified Interior designers to create custom concepts with a view to obtaining bespoke design solutions for their home or office.

 

The Project also includes the build of  a module which will include assigning of Designers, sharing concepts, User interaction, choosing designer packages etc

Business analyst use cases

We are now inviting additional aspiring Business Analysts, Project Coordinators, Software Testers to join the team and get a feel for working on a  live application with various modules being built.

There is huge scope for team members to develop  a wide range of skills being involved in a project like this ( FRD, BRD, SCope doc, UC, USer stories, UML, RTM, Change mgmt, Project backlog
Test Plan, Test cases, Test reports, Defect management etc)…and get valuable work references as well.

We are now taking registrations from aspiring Business Analysts and Quality Assurance Analysts (Software Testers) for this programme. If you want to be part of this exciting team please sign up before May 2nd 2017.

Remember, there is no need to visit our training centre to participate as everything is done online. As long as you have access to the internet and time available in the evenings to attend meetings then you will be just fine.the testers use Jira for defect tracking

For more details of what our work experience and mentoring program involves please visit  our dedicated web page for this here:
http://www.careertesters.com/work-experience-mentoring.html

The UK Stock Market this week (for those learning about stocks and shares)

The FTSE was slightly down yesterday, closing at 7338.99 (-0.15%)

The west’s leading economic think-tank (OECD) has raised its outlook for the UK this year. The pairs based organisation has predicted the UK economy will grow by 1.6% this year. The forecast has increased from the 1.2% predicted in November 2016. The increase growth percentage is a positive for the Share Market
Research has shown that the most successful investors are those that invest for the long term. Not everybody is going to be like Warren Buffet – the world’s greatest investor; a leaf that should be taken out of his book is that he is a long-term investor.
As we know, we have traders and investors, and I believe a person’s temperament would determine if a person would be an investor or trader or even both.
For people that don’t like to be stressed out, trading should be something that they think about twice . I don’t think trading is the best route for creative people, I would say medium to long term investing, is a better option.
The reason is simple, stress dissipates energy, and energy is needed to be creative. A long term investor would follow the market, research on opportunities and take action, such an individual, would have a long-term mind-set when picking opportunities and making decisions.
Talking about long-term investments, I saw some interesting news today about a company called Just Eat, it’s on the FSTE 250 index, and it is the second best performer, it is currently trading at 545.50 pence up by 5%.
Just Eat are online takeaway delivery, and as we all know, food is something that people can’t do without,  This factor alone could indicate that it could have good long-term prospects. Obviously, other factors have to must be taken into consideration such as competition, but looking at it logically, it should be on people watch list.

It’s pre-tax profit in 2016, more than double by 163.8%, from £34.6 million in 2015 to £ 91.3 million in 2016. Just Eat are based in the UK, and also have an international market, and there is strong growth in both markets.

So do your research, – fundamental analysis, have a look at the appropriate ratios such as Net profit margins, Price to book value, Long-term debt ratio, etc., Then have a look at the Charts to guide you in the right timing in stepping into the market if you so desire. Try to be patient if the stock/share trading in an old bought territory.

Also in the Financial news is General Motors Europe makers of Vauxhall and Opel are being sold to the company that owns Peugeot and Citroen, for £1.9bn.
Vauxhall and Opel have not made a profit since 1999, so it makes sense in a way, that what they have been doing is not working, and they have finally come to that realisation.
Let’s hope that current employees wouldn’t lose out on this new takeover. Peugeot’s chief executive Carlos Tavares has promised not to shut any Opel and Vauxhall plants after the brand’s acquisition.

Until Next time, keep Believing, Keep Hoping & Keep Loving

Peace Daniel

We offer monthly classes on Stocks, Shares and investments for beginners and advance classes.  To learn how to start investing in the market or take control of your financial destiny enroll on one of our courses or  read more about our stock market training hereshares_training_ad

Daniel Joseph MBA. See Daniel’s Bio here

Futuretrend Training Academy
Financial Training Department.