09:00 AM - 10:15 AM
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Opening Remarks
10:30 AM - 10:40 AM
Keynote Session
Trade First-Class: Raising the Standard for Modern Trading
The Performance Paradox: Why easier access to trading markets and platforms does not automatically translate into better trading performance.
What First-Class Really Means: How reducing friction across the trading journey can help create an environment that supports stronger performance.
Empowered Traders Perform Better: Why clarity, confidence, and discipline are essential in helping traders make more informed and consistent decisions.
Raising the Industry Standard: How the definition of “premium” is evolving and what meaningful, trader-focused support should look like in modern trading.
Speaker:
Ankur Sharma
Market Analyst
M4 Markets
10:40 AM - 11:20 AM
Panel Discussion Regulatory Perspective
Writing Rules That Protect Investors Without Stifling Innovation
How regulators balance investor protection, market integrity and access for new entrants
As financial markets become more digital, regulators are being asked to oversee an increasingly complex risk landscape, from cyber threats and financial crime to AI, digital assets and algorithmic decision-making. But how much regulation is enough? This panel examines how supervisors assess proportionality, distinguish genuine systemic or consumer risks from lower-risk activity, and design frameworks that protect investors without creating unnecessary barriers to innovation, competition and new market entrants.
Moderator:
Dr Demetrios Zamboglou
Educator
Fintech Expert
Panelist:
Sameera Fernandes
Chairperson, DSIG | CEO, Econova
DSIG| Econova
Erica Badocco
Founder
BLegal
Ilham Tamimi
Founder and Managing Director
FinEthica Advisory
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Joseph Collement
Chief Legal Officer
Bitcoin.com
11:20 AM - 11:35 AM
Keynote Session
Gold and Silver Price Outlook 2026: Metals in a War and Inflation Cycle
The Forces Moving Metals: How safe-haven demand, real yields, inflation expectations, and policy uncertainty influence gold and silver price behaviour.
Reading the Global Environment: The impact of current macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions on precious metals markets.
Putting Metals to Work: How gold and silver can be integrated into FX and multi-asset strategies as hedges, diversifiers, or tactical exposures.
Speaker:
Sridip Sarkar
Sales Manager & Market Analyst
EC Markets
11:35 AM - 11:50 AM
Keynote Session
AI in Trading & Fintech Marketing: Signal vs. Noise
Focus on AI That Drives Measurable Value: Identify the tools that can genuinely improve customer acquisition cost and lifetime value, rather than investing in AI for appearance or hype.
Prioritise the Four Proven Growth Levers: Use predictive lead and churn scoring, compliant creative at scale, partner-quality scoring, and AI-driven retention to support more effective marketing outcomes.
Apply a Three-Question Evaluation Framework: Ask whether an AI solution moves a business metric, whether its impact can be measured, and whether a human is accountable. If it fails any one of these tests, treat it as noise.
Speaker:
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Omar Almadi
Head of Performance Marketing
Multibank Group
11:50 AM - 12:00 PM
Networking Break
12:00 PM - 12:15 PM
Keynote Session
Risk Management for Business Decisions: What Trading Thought Us about Running a Brokerage
Recognize Patterns, Don’t Copy Playbooks: Learn how to identify transferable patterns from markets, business, and other disciplines instead of relying on one-size-fits-all case studies.
Make Better Decisions Under Uncertainty: Use probability, clear Pass/Fail criteria, downside protection, and structured experimentation to make stronger decisions when the answer is not obvious.
Build Systems That Adapt and Scale: Understand how to diagnose interconnected systems, prioritize the right levers, and continuously improve without damaging what is already working.
Speaker:
Nahid Yousefi
Regional General Director
Alpari
12:15 PM - 12:30 PM
Keynote Session
Building Smarter IB & Affiliate Strategies: What Actually Drives Long-Term Growth
Speaker:
Kevin Gibbs
Senior Presentation Expert
xChief
12:30 PM - 12:45 PM
Keynote Session
Why Most Traders Struggle and What the Consistent Ones Do Differently
When Markets Defy Expectations: Why major moves in gold, oil, and crypto reinforce the limits of market prediction and the importance of adapting to uncertainty.
The Foundations of Consistency: How risk management, discipline, and repeatable processes help traders navigate changing market conditions over the long term.
Decision-Making Under Pressure: How emotional control, behavioural awareness, and deliberate decision-making can influence trading outcomes.
Speaker:
Walid Koudmani
Business Market Analyst
Vantage Markets
12:45 PM - 01:00 PM
Keynote Session
Trade Wars, Sanctions, and Geopolitical FX Shockwaves
How Politics Moves Currencies: Examine how trade barriers, sanctions, and supply-chain disruptions influence growth expectations, balance-of-payments dynamics, and currency risk premia.
From Headlines to FX Scenarios: Learn how to build scenario trees that connect political developments with potential FX outcomes.
Structured Trading and Hedging Responses: Explore ways to apply geopolitical analysis to more structured trading and hedging decisions in an increasingly fragmented global environment.
Speaker:
Mahmoud Mashal
Senior Market Analyst
VT Markets
01:00 PM - 01:40 PM
Panel Discussion Growth Panel
Where IBs, Affiliates And Creators Become Real Distribution Strategy
Designing partner models that grow volume and deepen client value
IBs, affiliates, educators and content creators now sit on top of the most valuable asset in FX: trusted, local relationships with active traders. This session explores deal structures, tooling and support that turn those relationships into durable, high quality flow for both partners and brokers.
Moderator:
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Naeem Aslam
CIO | Columnist
Zaye Capital Markets I CompareBroker I GoldenGatePR I Nasdaq
Panelist:
Michael Makdah
Chief Marketing Officer
OPO GROUP
Norayr Djerrahian
Chief Commercial Officer
Hantec Markets
Tien Ching
Chief Executive Officer
ACCM
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Emily A. Aghajanyan
Regional Director
XS.com
Yiannis Papacharalampous
Chief Executive Officer
Klimexx Consulting
01:40 PM - 01:50 PM
Keynote Session
Beyond the Bounty: Why Your Retention Incentives Are Toxic
Speaker:
Lara Yaghmour
Talent & HR Manager
ABHFX
01:50 PM - 02:00 PM
Keynote Session
XAUUSD Is Only Half the Story
XAUUSD ties gold to the Fed’s every mood swing. That is not what gold is for. Gold’s core appeal is as a store of value amid global uncertainty. However, pricing it exclusively in USD makes every move a referendum on Fed policy, US data, and dollar strength. Trading gold against other major currencies, such as AUD, EUR, and GBP, can provide cleaner exposure to its safe-haven behaviour. Avoiding USD-pegged currencies such as AED also prevents dollar risk from being reintroduced indirectly.
Ratio trades in Gold/Silver and Gold/Oil isolate gold’s relative strength, but require proper construction. These pairs reduce broader commodity-cycle noise and allow for a clearer view of gold relative to another real asset. Since instruments such as XAUWTI are not directly quoted, the trade must be constructed synthetically, for example through a long XAUUSD position and a short WTI position, rather than through a single ticker.
Ratio extremes reflect identifiable macro shocks, and history provides context for how they resolve. Long-term Gold/Silver and Gold/Oil ratio charts show outlier periods during pandemic shocks, oil-price collapses, and monetary crises. Understanding the drivers of previous extremes helps traders assess whether a current level represents a meaningful dislocation or ordinary market noise.
Speaker:
James Hughes
Industry Expert
Tattvam Markets
02:00 PM - 02:10 PM
Keynote Session
Pre-IPO Trading Risks
Speaker:
Peter Karsten
Chief Executive Officer
STARTRADER
02:10 PM - 02:30 PM
Fireside Chat
When Markets Test Your Nerves, Not Your Method
How mindset, bias and discipline shape real trading outcomes
This fireside chat looks at trading as a psychological exercise as much as an analytical one. It explores fear, overconfidence, loss aversion and FOMO, how they show up in live positions, and the concrete habits, routines and limits that help traders stay consistent when screens are noisy
Moderator:
Yassine Maaroufi
Public Relations Director
Your Mind Media
Speaker:
Saif Qaddoura
Head of Market Research
Tradin
Nahid Yousefi
Regional General Director
Alpari
02:30 PM - 02:45 PM
Keynote Session
Navigating the Fed's New Regime & What It Means for the Dollar, Gold and Global Markets
A quieter Fed means data, expectations, and market signals matter more than ever.
Don't isolate data points. Trade the relationship between them, and the gap between expectation and reality.
Gold's risk was always continuous. Access to it wasn't. That's changing.
Speaker:
Alex McDonough
Social Media Executive
Moneta Markets
02:45 PM - 03:00 PM
Keynote Session
Behavioral Analytics: Understanding Trader and Market Bias
Bias in Trading Behaviour: Understand how cognitive biases can appear in order flow, position management, and broader platform activity.
Identifying Behavioural Patterns: Explore how firms can detect patterns such as overtrading, herding, and other decision-making behaviours that may affect trading outcomes.
From Insight to Better Decisions: Learn how targeted education, safeguards, and behavioural insights can support more informed decision processes for both firms and traders.
Speaker:
Manesh Patel
Global Market Analyst
Valetax
03:00 PM - 03:15 PM
Keynote Session
Beyond Liquidity: What Brokers Really Need From an Institutional Liquidity Partner
Liquidity Is More Than Pricing: Why tight spreads alone are not enough, and why execution consistency, market depth, stability during volatility, and reliable infrastructure really matter.
From Liquidity Provider to Strategic Partner: How the broker-LP relationship is evolving beyond basic pricing and connectivity toward liquidity, technology, risk management, data, and operational support.
Building Infrastructure That Scales With Brokers: How liquidity partners can support brokers as their trading volumes, instruments, markets, platforms, and client bases continue to grow.
Speaker:
Rana Sajjad
Chief Operating Officer
WINPRO PRIME
03:15 PM - 03:30 PM
Fireside Chat
From Wall Street to Main Street - How Global Exchanges Are Redefining Trading For The Modern Retail Investor
How global exchanges are making futures markets more accessible to retail traders through deeper liquidity, smaller contract sizes and extended trading hours, moving from 23/5 towards 24/7 access.
Moderator:
Moe Nabavi
Head of Growth
Luna PR
Speaker:
Richard Stoker
EMEA Head of Retail
CME Group
03:30 PM - 03:40 PM
Keynote Session
From Idea to First Client: Rethinking Prop and Forex Launches
Validate demand before investing in complexity: New prop and FX businesses should focus first on getting real clients and proving the model, rather than trying to build a fully mature operation from day one.
Growth should not require a rebuild: A staged approach lets firms begin with only the essentials, then progressively add products, integrations, infrastructure, and operational control as the business gains traction.
New entry paths are opening for influencers and start-ups: Trading influencers, educators, IBs, affiliates, and young entrepreneurs can now enter the prop or FX space with lighter operational and technology requirements, allowing them to focus on their audience, distribution, and brand.
Speaker:
Serhii Poplavskyi
Head of Match-Trader Platform
Match-Trader
03:40 PM - 03:50 PM
Keynote Session
Agent Portal: Built for Smarter Agent Management
Connect: Create a seamless link between agents, opportunities, and support.
Manage: Bring agent activity, performance, and operations into one centralized platform.
Grow: Enable agents with the tools and insights to drive stronger business outcomes.
Speaker:
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Ahmed Moussa
Group Executive Manager
INZO LLC
03:50 PM - 04:00 PM
Keynote Session
From Passive to Active: Interaction in the Client Learning Journey
Speaker:
Yiannis Papacharalampous
Chief Executive Officer
Klimexx Consulting
04:00 PM - 04:40 PM
Panel Discussion Analyst Panel
Gold Is Not Going Down. Here Is The Uncomfortable Reason Why
Why central banks, oil trade and de-dollarisation are all pointing the same way
Central banks bought gold at record levels last year and show no sign of stopping in 2026. Questions around dollar access, oil settlement and conflict near key shipping routes are pushing sovereign reserve thinking further from US Treasuries and closer to gold. This panel examines what those forces mean for traders and FX portfolios sitting inside the region where this shift is most visible
Moderator:
Max Finn
Board Member
Blackbridge Investment Swiss
Panelist:
Connor Woods
Global Head of Education
Taurex
Wael Makarem
Financial Markets Strategists Lead
Exness
Noureldeen Al Hammoury
Chief Market Strategist
Equiti
Lukman Otunuga
Head of Market Research
FXTM
Motasm Adel
Forex Market Analyst & Trading Educator
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04:40 PM - 04:50 PM
Keynote Session
Intermarket Analysis: Reading VIX, Gold and Oil for FX signals
Reading Cross-Asset Signals: Explore how movements in equity volatility, gold, and oil can highlight market turning points before they become clear on currency charts.
Confirming and Refining FX Views: Learn how VIX, precious metals, and energy-market trends can confirm, challenge, or refine a currency-market outlook.
Aligning FX With the Bigger Picture: Apply a structured checklist to align currency positions with broader risk conditions and prevailing macroeconomic narratives.
Speaker:
Khaled El Khatib
Head of Global Market Analysts
MH Markets
04:50 PM - 05:00 PM
Closing Remarks
09:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Registration
10:15 AM - 10:25 AM
Opening Remarks
10:25 AM - 10:40 AM
Keynote Session
Designing Currency Pairs & FX Portfolios for 2026 Macro Regimes
Understanding Macro Regimes: Identify macro regimes and understand how changing economic conditions influence currency performance.
Building Diversified FX Portfolios: Design diversified FX portfolios by selecting currency pairs based on macro drivers, correlation, and risk exposure, rather than individual trade ideas.
Creating Resilient FX Strategies: Apply a strategic decision-making framework to build more resilient FX portfolios that can adapt to evolving market conditions throughout 2026.
Speaker:
Mohammad Shanti
Head of Market Research & Analysis
ATFX MENA
10:40 AM - 11:20 AM
Panel Discussion CEO Panel
The Calm Before the Revenue Crisis
When volatility fades, which brokers survive and how
Most brokerages are built for busy markets. Strip away the volume and the cracks show fast. This panel challenges the CEOs who actually rebuilt their revenue base to be honest about what it took, what they cut, and what they wish they had done sooner.
Moderator:
Pere Monguió
Co-Chief Executive Officer
FXStreet
Panelist:
David Cooney
Co- Founder| Co-CEO
MahiMarkets
Daniel Squires
Chief Commercial Officer
ADSS
Nidal Hadi
CEO | Strategy Advisor
INGOT
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Matthew Smith
Group Chairman | CEO
EC Markets
Jareer Hiary
Chief Executive Officer
CFI Financial Markets LLC
11:20 AM - 11:35 AM
Keynote Session
Trading Themes to Watch Q4 2026
Macro, Rates and the Dollar: How inflation, central-bank policy, fiscal pressures, and changing rate expectations may influence currencies, bond yields, and broader market sentiment.
Geopolitics, Trade and Commodities: The potential effects of geopolitical tensions, trade disruption, supply-chain developments, and energy-price volatility across global markets.
Assets, Risks and What May Be Underpriced: Key levels to watch across major global assets, potential risks not yet fully reflected in prices, and the factors that could sustain market volatility into 2027.
Speaker:
Jameel Ahmad
Chief Analyst
GTCFX
11:35 AM - 11:50 AM
Keynote Session
Emotional Discipline in Trading: Building Unshakable Mindset
Rules Before Reactions: Rules-based trading creates structure around entries, exits, position sizing, and risk limits, reducing the scope for impulsive decisions during volatile conditions.
Emotions Are Human, Not the Enemy: Fear, greed, frustration, and overconfidence cannot be eliminated, but they can be recognised and managed through preparation, checklists, and regular review.
Think Like a Professional, Not a Gambler: A professional mindset focuses on process, probability, risk control, and long-term consistency rather than chasing single-trade outcomes or acting on emotion.
Speaker:
Ahmed Yousre
Promotion Manager
PU Prime Financial Services
11:50 AM - 12:00 PM
Networking Break
12:00 PM - 12:15 PM
Fireside Chat
Beyond the Dollar: Building the Payment Rails for the Next Stablecoin Economy
This fireside chat explores how bank-issued stablecoins and neutral settlement infrastructure can reshape cross-border payments. Drawing on experience within the dirham stablecoin ecosystem, the discussion examines issuer competition, the current “dollar sandwich” in international transfers, and the practical path for brokers, PSPs and corporate treasuries to adopt local-currency stablecoin rails.
Moderator:
Sheikh Shahabuddin
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Sheikh Studios LLC
Speaker:
Lukasz Dec
Chief Executive Officer
Thiqwave
12:15 PM - 12:30 PM
Keynote Session
Gold Is Telling Us Something About Debt
Fiscal Stress and Gold Demand: How rising deficits, growing government debt, and concerns about debt sustainability can strengthen gold’s appeal as a store of value.
When Bond Yields Send a Warning: Why rising long-term yields can reflect fiscal risk and weakening confidence in sovereign debt, rather than simply stronger economic growth or tighter monetary policy.
Gold as a Confidence Signal: How gold’s behaviour can offer insight into inflation risk, policy credibility, currency confidence, and investor demand for assets without government credit risk.
Speaker:
Ahmed Azzam
Head of Market Research
Equiti Group
12:30 PM - 12:45 PM
Keynote Session
Sentiment Analysis for Currencies: News, Social, and Order Flow
Turning Sentiment Into a Signal: How curated news analytics, social-media activity, and order-flow data can be quantified and combined into a coherent view of currency sentiment.
Knowing When Sentiment Matters: When sentiment may lead price, when it may lag market moves, and why it must be read alongside broader macroeconomic and market context.
Using Sentiment Within Risk Controls: How sentiment insights can inform trade filters, position management, and risk limits, rather than functioning as a stand-alone trading signal.
Speaker:
Musa Punjabi
Business Growth Strategist
Fortress FX
12:45 PM - 01:00 PM
Keynote Session
From Gambling to Profession: How Prop Firms Are Transforming Trading
From Gamblers to Disciplined Traders: How structured rules, risk limits, and accountability have encouraged traders to approach markets more professionally.
Consistency Over the Big Win: Why securing consistent payouts and protecting capital matters more than chasing extraordinary returns.
Competition Is Changing the Game: How competition among prop firms is pushing the industry toward more trader-friendly models, rules, and opportunities.
Speaker:
Ibrahim Shaikh
Chief Executive Officer
SHARK FUNDED
01:00 PM - 01:40 PM
Panel Discussion Expert Panel
Liquidity Is The Difference Between A Win And A Warning
Using liquidity choices to quietly improve every trade you place
Most traders focus on direction and ignore where their orders are actually filled. This panel looks at how choices around timing, venue and counterparties change slippage and rejections, and how a clear view of real liquidity turns a decent strategy into a resilient one.
Moderator:
Justin Harrison
Founder
MoneyTribe21
Panelist:
Jay Mawji
Chief Executive Officer
STARPRIME
Vanshika Rastogi
Market Educator| Analyst
FundedFirm
Dane Baker
Chief Commercial Officer
Kama Capital
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Kitty Yu
Sales Director
TMGM
01:40 PM - 01:55 PM
Keynote Session
ICT vs. Order Flow: Which Is More Profitable?
Closer Look at Both Approaches: A detailed comparison of ICT and order flow to understand their differences and determine which approach is better suited to different trading styles.
From Analysis to Trade Execution: How technical analysis, money management, and continuous development come together to form a structured trading setup.
The Behaviour Behind Better Trading: How trading behaviour and psychology influence discipline, decision-making, and consistency.
Speaker:
Huthayfa Abbaas
R&D Manager
Orbex Global LTD
01:55 PM - 02:10 PM
Keynote Session
Can Indicators Warn You Before the Market Reverses?
Speaker:
Habib Akiki
Director of Research and Market Education
Daman Markets
02:10 PM - 02:30 PM
Fireside Chat
Where Capital Meets Innovation: Building the UAE’s Next Growth Ecosystem
How emerging hubs are connecting founders, technology and global investment
As capital and innovation move beyond traditional financial centres, the UAE is emerging as a destination for ambitious founders, technology companies and global investors. In this fireside chat, Paul Dawalibi, CEO of Innovation City, explores how AI, digital assets and founder-focused ecosystems are reshaping where companies choose to build, scale and access capital.
Moderator:
Max Finn
Board Member
Blackbridge Investment Swiss
Speaker:
Paul Dawalibi
Chief Executive Officer
Innovation City
02:30 PM - 02:40 PM
Keynote Session
IB Growth Models That Scale in MENA
Build Relationships, Not Just Referrals: Develop an IB model built on trust, ongoing support, and long-term client engagement rather than one-off introductions.
Scale Through Structure, Technology and Transparency: Create scalable operations through clear processes, appropriate technology, transparent terms, and consistent partner support.
Localize the Model: MENA Is Not One Market: Recognise the differences across MENA markets and adapt the partnership model to local client behaviour, regulations, languages, and business practices.
Speaker:
Yusuf Mansawala
Regional Sales Manager
CPT Markets
02:40 PM - 02:50 PM
Keynote Session
Brokers Don't Have a Data Problem. They Have an Attention Problem.
From Analytics to Active Risk Monitoring: How AI is evolving from a tool for analysing historical data into a capability for continuous monitoring, prioritisation, and early identification of emerging risk signals.
A New Workflow for Risk Managers: Why AI will not replace risk managers, but can change how they focus attention, investigate exceptions, and act on the risks that require human judgement.
When AI Should Inform, Not Decide: The central governance question: when should AI support a decision, and when should accountability and final judgement remain with a human? Effective AI risk practices require clearly defined human oversight and responsibilities.
Speaker:
Anthony Wu
Chief Executive Officer
Sigma Trading Management
02:50 PM - 03:00 PM
Keynote Session
AI vs. the Trader? The New Battle for the Edge in Forex & CFD Markets
The Edge Is Changing: From Information to Intelligence AI is transforming how traders process market data, news, sentiment and technical signals. The real competitive advantage is no longer simply accessing information it’s turning information into better, faster and more informed decisions.
Human + AI: The New Trading Advantage The future isn't AI versus the trader; it's AI + the trader. Explore how AI-driven insights, advanced analytics and automation can complement technical and fundamental strategies, while human judgment, psychology and disciplined risk management remain critical.
XS.com: Building the Broker of Tomorrow How XS.com is combining AI, advanced trading technology, competitive execution, multi-asset access and trader-focused tools to create a smarter trading experience and why the next generation of FX & CFD brokers will be defined by the ability to combine technology, intelligence and trust.
Speaker:
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Elie Nachawati
Business Development VP
XS.com
03:00 PM - 03:15 PM
Keynote Session
USD Dominance, De-Dollarization, and Reserve Currency Risk
What Sustains Dollar Dominance: How payment infrastructure, deep funding markets, trade invoicing, and legal and regulatory frameworks continue to support the dollar’s central role in the global financial system.
Where Diversification Is Emerging: Why de-dollarization is more likely to develop through gradual reserve diversification, local-currency settlement, and alternative payment systems than through a sudden replacement of the dollar. The US dollar represented 57.13% of allocated global foreign-exchange reserves in Q1 2026.
Long-Term FX Strategy and Risk: What plausible transition paths could mean for currency exposures, liquidity, hedging, and long-term risk management.
Speaker:
Safatullah Jalal
Promotion Manager
VPFX
03:15 PM - 03:30 PM
Networking Break
03:30 PM - 03:40 PM
Keynote Session
Prediction Markets - What Prediction Markets Mean for Traders, Brokers and Market Makers
A Fast-Growing Broker Category: Prediction markets have moved rapidly toward the mainstream, with combined platform volume surpassing $50 billion per month in 2026. IG Group’s agreement to acquire Underdog for up to $1.3 billion highlights the sector’s strategic importance for retail trading firms.
Price as Probability: A yes-or-no contract on an event, such as a Fed decision or football result, turns a market view into a simple probability-based price. That simplicity can make the product easier to explain than many traditional leveraged trading instruments.
Build for Regulation Before the FX Crossover: The regulatory landscape remains unsettled, while prediction-market platforms are expanding beyond event contracts. Kalshi has filed proposals for perpetual products linked to FX and interest rates, alongside equity indices and metals; the CFTC reviews new asset classes case by case
Speaker:
Daniel Skowronski
Group Executive Manager
INFINOX
03:40 PM - 03:55 PM
Keynote Session
The Convergence Edge: Blending Macro and Technicals
Macro Sets the Direction: Use macroeconomic conditions and broader market drivers to establish the underlying market view.
Technicals Time the Entry: Apply technical analysis to identify potential entry points, invalidation levels, and trade timing.
Confluence Builds a Repeatable Framework: Combine macro and technical signals to strengthen conviction and create a more consistent decision-making process.
Speaker:
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Aaron Hill
Chief Market Analyst
FP Markets
03:55 PM - 04:40 PM
Panel Discussion Knowledge-Led Panel
Building Prop Trading Into A Serious Long Term Career Path
How funded trading works when both sides treat it as business
Prop trading is moving past quick evaluations and headline payouts toward more structured, career‑length relationships. This panel explores how firms design capital, risk limits and progression, and how traders use funded accounts to build a durable track record instead of chasing their next reset.
Moderator:
Naeem Aslam
CIO | Columnist
Zaye Capital Markets I CompareBroker I GoldenGatePR I Nasdaq
Panelist:
Erkan Yilmaz
Chief Operating Officer
FundingPips
Petros Kalaitzis
General Manager
IC Funded
Ibrahim Shaikh
Chief Executive Officer
SHARK FUNDED
04:40 PM - 04:50 PM
Keynote Session
Financial Calm in a Volatile World
Focus on What You Can Control: Set clear financial goals, define your risk tolerance, and use a plan that guides decisions when markets become uncertain.
Build Resilience Through Diversification: Spread risk across and within asset classes to reduce concentration risk and limit the impact of major moves in a single market.
Respond With Discipline, Not Panic: Avoid impulsive reactions to headlines and short-term price swings by returning to long-term objectives, predefined rules, and regular portfolio reviews.
Speaker:
Amit Khosla
Branch Head and Head of Sales
MENA Capital Financial Markets
04:50 PM - 05:00 PM
Closing Remarks
09:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Registration
10:30 AM - 10:40 AM
Opening Remarks
10:40 AM - 10:55 AM
Keynote Session
The Future of Forex: AI, Trust & the New Era of Intelligent Investing
AI will redefine forex, but people must remain accountable: AI can strengthen market analysis, execution, risk monitoring, and decision support. Sustainable advantage will come from combining its speed and pattern-recognition capabilities with human judgment, ethical oversight, and clear accountability.
Trust will become the most valuable currency: As more of the trading journey becomes automated, transparent communication, robust investor protection, responsible product design, and regulatory discipline will distinguish credible brokers from short-term operators. Technology may attract clients; trust is what retains them.
The future belongs to intelligent, responsible investors: Tomorrow’s investors will need to move beyond chasing fast returns and toward data-led, risk-aware decision-making. The goal is not simply to trade faster, it is to trade smarter, safer, and with a clear understanding of downside risk.
Speaker:
Sameera Fernandes
Chairperson, DSIG | CEO, Econova
DSIG| Econova
10:55 AM - 11:20 AM
Fireside Chat
Inside the Multi‑Rail Payments Stack: Gateways, Smart Routing and Cross‑Border Flows
How modern payment systems actually decide where and how your money moves.
This session explains how multi‑rail payment systems connect multiple gateways and methods, use smart routing to choose the best path for each transaction, handle failures, and balance speed, cost and acceptance for cross‑border deposits and payouts in today’s trading and fintech environment.
Moderator:
Yassine Maaroufi
Public Relations Director
Your Mind Media
Speaker:
Sean Bolton
Group Chief Operating Officer
Xoala
Evan Kaldelis
Global Deputy CEO
3S Money
11:20 AM - 11:35 AM
Keynote Session
Mobile-First Brokerage: Designing for the Next Billion Traders
The Future of Trading Is Mobile-Native: The next generation of traders expects financial services to be as seamless, accessible, and intuitive as the mobile experiences they use every day.
The Entire Trading Journey Needs to Be Connected: From onboarding and KYC to funding, trading, education, and customer support, brokers need to design one seamless mobile journey rather than disconnected touchpoints.
Emerging Markets Require Localized, Not Just Digital, Experiences: Winning the next generation of traders means understanding local markets, payment behaviours, languages, financial habits, and trust factors and building the mobile experience around them.
Speaker:
Abdulrahman Falah
Partner Relationship Manager
JustMarkets
11:35 AM - 11:50 AM
Keynote Session
Gold Is Not Silver, and Oil Is Not Gold
Different Commodities, Different Drivers: Understand how gold, silver, and oil respond to distinct market forces, despite all being classified as commodities.
What Moves Each Market: Explore how gold reflects interest rates, currencies, and global confidence; silver combines precious-metal demand with industrial growth; and oil reacts to supply, inventories, economic activity, and geopolitical developments.
Matching Markets to Trading Approaches: Learn why volatility differs across these commodities and how to assess which market may better suit a trader’s approach.
Speaker:
Abhay Kumar
Sales Director- MENA & South Asia
TMGM
11:50 AM - 12:00 PM
Networking Break
12:00 PM - 12:15 PM
Ask Me Anything Senior Broker Executive
Building a Brokerage That Still Works in 2026
This session focuses on the brokerage as a business: licensing and jurisdictions, funding and P&L, technology and vendor choices, expansion strategy, and how client behaviour is changing economics. Questions from the room steer the conversation toward the real decisions behind growing and defending a brokerage franchise today.
Influencer:
Ghadeer Ibrahim
Business Producer
CNBC ARABIA
Expert:
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Stanislav Galandzovskyi
Acquisition & Growth Marketing Consultant
Finforce One
12:15 PM - 12:30 PM
Keynote Session
Why Most Traders Misread Trends and How to Fix It
The Structural Flaw: Why traditional trend analysis breaks down in real-world trading
Objective Definitions: How to define tops and bottoms with mathematical certainty
The Lifecycle of a Trend: How trends emerge, stay intact, and precisely when they vanish
Market States: Identifying the clear borders between Trend, Range, and Transition
Speaker:
Avramis Despotis
Founder and CEO-Tradepedia
XM | Tradepedia
12:30 PM - 12:45 PM
Keynote Session
Scaling FX Brokerage Operations: Building Resilient, Efficient & Future-Ready Operations
The Operational Challenges of Growth: Identify the key pressures that arise as client volumes, markets and regulatory requirements expand.
Building Scalable Operations: Discover how people, processes and technology can improve efficiency, consistency and long-term scalability.
Managing Operational Risk: Learn how robust controls and governance can help reduce risk as the business grows.
Speaker:
Ahmad Fakih
Head of Commercial Opaerations
UEXO
12:45 PM - 01:00 PM
Keynote Session
From Execution to Partnership: What Defines a Modern Trading Ecosystem
Beyond the Broker Relationship: Discover how a modern trading ecosystem extends beyond market access, bringing together reliable execution, technology, support, education, and services designed around the evolving needs of traders.
Creating Value Through Partnership: Understand how introducing brokers, affiliates, and business partners can benefit from collaborative models, shared expertise, and the resources needed to develop and scale their businesses.
Supporting Sustainable Growth: Explore how global reach, long-term alignment, and a connected ecosystem can help traders and partners build resilience, strengthen capability, and pursue sustainable growth over time.
Speaker:
Sarmad Ahsan
Commercial Manager
D prime
01:00 PM - 01:40 PM
Panel Discussion Trader Tools Panel
From Research To Execution: Tools That Build Better Traders
How the right platform stack shapes trader discipline, decisions and outcomes
Active traders now have access to charting platforms, risk calculators, economic calendars, backtesting environments, AI trade journals and copy trading networks. This panel examines which tools genuinely improve trading behaviour, how to build a coherent workflow across them, and what the industry still needs to do to turn access into applied knowledge.
Moderator:
Alnura Belyalova
Head of Fintech
INPUT Global
Panelist:
Avramis Despotis
Founder and CEO-Tradepedia
XM | Tradepedia
Ahmad Assiri
Market Analyst
Pepperstone
Zaheer Anwari
Founder| CEO
Revacy Ltd
Mahmoud Mashal
Senior Market Analyst
VT Markets
01:40 PM - 01:50 PM
Keynote Session
Stop Acquiring Traders, Start Developing Them
Acquisition without development creates churn: Why continually acquiring new traders cannot compensate for traders who fail, disengage and leave, and why retention starts with trader development.
Better traders create better broker economics: How helping traders become more disciplined, capable and consistent can increase engagement, longevity and ultimately customer lifetime value.
The next broker battleground is the trader ecosystem: Why spreads, platforms and products are increasingly commoditized, and how education, community, coaching, data and AI can become the real competitive differentiators.
Speaker:
Justin Harrison
Founder
MoneyTribe21
01:50 PM - 02:05 PM
Keynote Session
The Power of AI Trading
Strategy Building & Backtesting (Strategies): An all-in-one dashboard to author trading strategies, run backtests, paper trade, and go live. It provides full control to refine your approach before risking real capital.
Automated Analysis & BYOA Agents (Analysis): Run built-in analyzers or your own BYOA agents on any market to receive immediate verdicts. Saves hours of technical and fundamental analysis by delivering actionable insights instantly.
Automated Trade Ideas (Trade Ideas): Subscribe to curated periodic analyses where actionable ideas automatically fire trades directly on your broker account. Ensures key market opportunities are captured without constant screen monitoring
02:10 PM - 02:30 PM
Fireside Chat
Designing Liquidity: From LPs to Client Experience
Turning LP relationships, routing logic and risk rules into a competitive edge
A behind the scenes conversation on how brokers choose liquidity providers, shape routing and last look, and use risk rules to turn raw market prices into a distinctive, trusted client experience.
Moderator:
Raja Zahoor
Chief Executive Officer
Dominion Markets LLC
Speaker:
Jay Mawji
Chief Executive Officer
STARPRIME
02:30 PM - 02:40 PM
Keynote Session
Concept on Gold Move and the Catalysts Behind It
Gold Price Outlook for Next Month: Assess the key market conditions and potential catalysts that may shape gold price movements in the month ahead.
Interest Rate Pressure on Gold: Examine how interest-rate expectations, real yields, and central-bank policy can affect gold demand and price direction.
Geopolitical Risks and Their Impact on Gold: Explore how conflict, policy uncertainty, and shifts in risk sentiment can influence safe-haven flows and gold-market behaviour.
Speaker:
Joseph Dahrieh
Managing Director (MENA)
Tickmill UK Ltd
02:40 PM - 03:00 PM
Fireside Chat
Digital Money Rails and the Future of FX Flows
How stablecoins and instant payments are reshaping spreads and settlement
Stablecoins, real-time payment systems and early CBDC projects are beginning to influence how liquidity moves, how spreads are priced and how clients expect value to settle. This session examines which developments matter now, how they interact with existing rails, and where real adoption constraints still sit.
Moderator:
Moe Nabavi
Head of Growth
Luna PR
Speaker:
Jason Sheman
Chief Operating Officer
Bitcoin.com
03:00 PM - 03:15 PM
Keynote Session
The Pulse of the Market
Daily Trading Sessions and Market Setups: Discover how daily trading sessions and market-setup discussions help traders identify key levels, potential opportunities, and evolving market conditions.
Technical and Fundamental Analysis: Explore how technical analysis and fundamental factors can be combined to build a more complete view of market direction and trading setups.
Professional News Briefings and Market Updates: Stay informed through daily briefings delivered by professional traders, covering the latest market developments, economic events, and key drivers affecting trading decisions.
Speaker:
Ward Al Banna
MENA Sales Manager
eplanet brokers
03:15 PM - 03:30 PM
Networking Break
03:30 PM - 03:40 PM
Keynote Session
Stop Selling Forex. Start Understanding People.
People Buy Outcomes, Not Products: Financial decisions are often driven by the future people hope to create, whether that means greater security, independence, opportunity, or control.
The Psychology Behind Financial Decisions: Ambition, fear, confidence, uncertainty, and past experience can all shape how people approach trading and investing.
Trust as a Market Foundation: Trust, empathy, and human connection influence how people assess information, manage uncertainty, and form long-term financial relationships.
Speaker:
Nina Rizei Loyola
Relationship Manager
Lirunex
Joud Warda
Relationship Manager
Lirunex
03:40 PM - 03:50 PM
Keynote Session
Turning Intelligence Into Action
AI as a Hypothesis Engine: Learn how AI can process macroeconomic data, fundamental signals, and market positioning to generate hypotheses, challenge assumptions, and support stronger decision-making.
Mapping and Managing Risk: Move beyond static risk matrices by identifying exposures, assessing potential vulnerabilities, and applying stress tests across different market scenarios.
From Insight to Automated Execution: Explore how actionable signals can connect to execution infrastructure, allowing hedges to be adjusted through exchange-traded or OTC instruments as conditions change.
Speaker:
Ahmad Assiri
Market Analyst
Pepperstone
03:50 PM - 04:30 PM
Panel Discussion AI Expert Panel
When AI Stops Being Hype And Starts Helping Trades
Choosing AI that makes you sharper, not more distracted
Retail traders now sit in front of tools that once lived only inside hedge funds, from pattern scanners to live sentiment and risk engines. This panel separates useful from useless, shows how pros test AI before trusting it, and explains where it genuinely improves day-to-day trading decisions.
Moderator:
Vineet Miskin
Chief Investment Officer
VH Holdings
Panelist:
Danny Salman
Head of Market Research
CXM
Mehmet Namli
Founder| CEO
Aegeanlabs Software LLC
Dr. Mukhallad Omari
Industry Expert- HonorPro Jordon
Honor Financial
Bas Kooijman
Chief Executive Officer
DHF Capital S.A.
04:30 PM - 04:45 PM
Keynote Session
Developing Financial Trends: Forex and Cryptocurrency
Institutional Adoption: How banks, asset managers, and other institutions are bringing governance, compliance, and risk management to digital assets.
Tokenization: How blockchain can enable fractional ownership, faster settlement, transparency, and access to real-world assets.
Stablecoins and Payments: How stablecoins are supporting faster, lower-cost, and always-on cross-border payments.
Speaker:
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Felix Yong
Director of Business Development
Mega Fusion
04:45 PM - 05:00 PM
Closing Remarks
09:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Registration
10:30 AM - 10:40 AM
Opening Remarks
10:40 AM - 11:20 AM
Panel Discussion Global Perspective
Running FX And Crypto Risk From A Well-Tested UAE Hub
How UAE leaders trade markets shaped by conflict and policy
UAE teams now sit where capital, energy and conflict all intersect. They are pricing headlines on sanctions, shipping, regional tension and new crypto rules into real positions every day. This panel digs into how they size risk, stay liquid and avoid reacting emotionally to every crisis
Moderator:
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Raghav Chopra
Managing Editor
The Coin Headlines
Panelist:
Jason Hughes
General Manager
IC
Courtney Fitzsimmons
Chief Compliance Officer
Multibank Group
Dr Demetrios Zamboglou
Educator
Fintech Expert
11:20 AM - 11:35 AM
Keynote Session
The Next Evolution of Algorithmic Trading: AI Agents, Ultency, and the Native MetaTrader 5 Ecosystem
AI Agents and Algorithmic Trading: Discover how AI agents are shaping algorithmic-trading workflows by supporting market analysis, strategy development, back-testing, optimisation, and trading-robot refinement within MetaTrader 5.
Ultency and High-Performance Execution: Explore Ultency’s ultra-low-latency infrastructure and its role in supporting institutional liquidity access, pricing, routing, and high-performance execution.
MetaTrader 5’s Native Ecosystem: Learn how MetaTrader 5 innovations, including native Model Context Protocol support and integrated AI capabilities, can improve efficiency, client experience, and brokerage operations.
Speaker:
Demis Gavrielides
Vice President of Business Development (GCC & South Asia)
MetaQuotes
11:35 AM - 11:50 AM
Keynote Session
Your Edge Isn’t More Data: An AI That Can Read Your Account and Show You How You Actually Trade
Speaker:
Michael Makdah
Chief Marketing Officer
OPO GROUP
11:50 AM - 12:00 PM
Networking Break
12:00 PM - 12:15 PM
Fireside Chat
Reading Indonesia Correctly: QRIS, Virtual Accounts and the Deposit Funnel
Indonesia is often mismeasured, not underperforming: QRIS processed 12.55 billion transactions worth roughly US$33.5 billion in H1 2026, doubling year on year across 66 million users. Weak broker conversion can therefore reflect an unsuitable payment-method mix rather than a lack of customer demand.
QRIS, virtual accounts, and bank transfers are distinct funnel products: Each method has different approval rates, abandonment points, ticket-size patterns, and settlement speeds. Treating them as a single “local methods” category hides the operational differences that shape client behaviour.
Optimise for deposit-to-first-trade: Settlement speed can matter more than approval rate because a successful deposit only creates value once it becomes an active trading account. Test method allocation with deterministic assignment, method and ticket-size stratification, and a small randomised holdout to measure causal impact rather than relying on dashboard averages.
Moderator:
Yudhistira Dewanata
Chief Technology Officer
Verixa
12:15 PM - 12:30 PM
Keynote Session
Understanding The New Generation Of Trades
Speaker:
Kashish Jain
Head of Dealings
SGFX
12:30 PM - 12:45 PM
Keynote Session
Performance Marketing & Affiliates in Forex and CFDs
From Promotion to Education-Led Funnels: Why marketing leveraged products is moving beyond broad, promotion-heavy tactics toward clearer education, realistic expectation setting, and more informed client journeys.
Growth Under Regulatory Scrutiny: How firms and affiliates can pursue acquisition while ensuring financial promotions are fair, clear, balanced, and supported by appropriate risk disclosures. These expectations extend to social media and third-party promotional activity.
Measure Quality, Not Just Conversion: How segmentation and lifetime-value analysis can provide a more meaningful view of performance than first deposits, headline conversion rates, or short-term acquisition volumes alone.
Speaker:
Manuel Barbero
Senior Marketing Director - Marketing
ADSS
12:45 PM - 01:00 PM
Networking Break
01:00 PM - 01:40 PM
Panel Discussion Crypto Panel
When Crypto Quietly Starts Acting Like A Second Currency
How stablecoins and tokens move real money across borders today
Crypto is no longer just a trading product. Dollar‑pegged stablecoins now move value between countries at speed, especially where local rails are slow or capital rules are tight. This panel explores where crypto genuinely works as money, how that flow interacts with FX, and what risks still matter most
Moderator:
Raghav Chopra
Managing Editor
The Coin Headlines
Panelist:
Derek Dai
Regional Head of MENA
Bybit
Lukasz Dec
Chief Executive Officer
Thiqwave
Ayad Butt
Senior Executive Officer
Zodia Markets
Rahul Kumar
Head of Digital Assets - MENA
Capital.com
Anton Golub
Founding Member
RWA Labs
01:40 PM - 01:55 PM
Keynote Session
When the World Panics, Where Does the Money Run?
A safe-haven isn't safe just because everyone calls it one. It only works when the reason you're running to it matches the thing you're scared of. Gold, the dollar, bonds: every single one turned on people the moment the fear changed underneath them.
Fear is the spark, not the fire. Fear doesn't move the money, it makes people do the thing that moves it. Dump the liquid asset, repay the dollar debt, unwind the trade. The emotion lights it; the plumbing carries it.
Match the haven to the fear, not the headline. There's no place that's safe for every crisis, there's only the right shelter for this one. When banks wobble, money runs to gold. When a currency cracks, it runs to the dollar. But when prices are exploding, the old safe havens are the first to burn. Same panic word, completely different maps.
Speaker:
Lukman Otunuga
Head of Market Research
FXTM
01:55 PM - 02:10 PM
Keynote Session
Emotional Discipline in Trading: Building Unshakable Mindset
Rules Before Reactions: Rules-based trading creates structure around entries, exits, position sizing, and risk limits, reducing the scope for impulsive decisions during volatile conditions.
Emotions Are Human, Not the Enemy: Fear, greed, frustration, and overconfidence cannot be eliminated, but they can be recognised and managed through preparation, checklists, and regular review.
Think Like a Professional, Not a Gambler: A professional mindset focuses on process, probability, risk control, and long-term consistency rather than chasing single-trade outcomes or acting on emotion.
Speaker:
Ahmed Yousre
Promotion Manager
PU Prime Financial Services
02:10 PM - 02:35 PM
Networking Break
02:35 PM - 02:50 PM
Keynote Session
USD Dominance, De-Dollarization, and Reserve Currency Risk
What Sustains Dollar Dominance: How payment infrastructure, deep funding markets, trade invoicing, and legal and regulatory frameworks continue to support the dollar’s central role in the global financial system.
Where Diversification Is Emerging: Why de-dollarization is more likely to develop through gradual reserve diversification, local-currency settlement, and alternative payment systems than through a sudden replacement of the dollar. The US dollar represented 57.13% of allocated global foreign-exchange reserves in Q1 2026.
Long-Term FX Strategy and Risk: What plausible transition paths could mean for currency exposures, liquidity, hedging, and long-term risk management.
Speaker:
Safatullah Jalal
Promotion Manager
VPFX
02:50 PM - 03:05 PM
Keynote Session
Empowering Traders with Data
How traders can use their own data to be profitable.
How traders can analyse their losses to lose less
The power is in the data for the trader
Speaker:
Raja Zahoor
Chief Executive Officer
Dominion Markets LLC
03:05 PM - 03:35 PM
Fireside Chat
Capital Markets 2.0: How UAE Investment Services Are Re-engineering Regional Wealth
The UAE is moving beyond its role as a regional financial hub to become a launchpad for the next generation of capital markets. This panel examines how new investment models, deeper liquidity, real-world assets and AI-driven wealthtech are reshaping access to capital, investor behaviour and the future of wealth across the GCC.
Moderator:
Dr Demetrios Zamboglou
Educator
Fintech Expert
Speaker:
Avramis Despotis
Founder and CEO-Tradepedia
XM | Tradepedia
Sameera Fernandes
Chairperson, DSIG | CEO, Econova
DSIG| Econova
03:35 PM - 03:50 PM
Keynote Session
Algorithmic Trading for Beginners: From Idea to Execution
You do not need to be a programmer to understand algos. In this session, you learn how to express your trading rules clearly enough that they can be turned into automated systems, either by you or with help. You will see the basic steps from idea to testing to live running, so you know what is involved before you automate any strategy.
Speaker:
Tommaso Caratelli
Founder | Trader | Author
Hedgio - Investetica
03:50 PM - 04:05 PM
Fireside Chat
Leading Finance Through Change: Building Influence, Trust and Long-Term Impact
Moderator:
Maria Tunikova
Global Market Team Lead & Project Lead
Drofa Comms & Women Leading the Way
Speaker:
Roula Pelehrinis
Director of Institutional Sales
Kama Capital
04:05 PM - 04:20 PM
Keynote Session
Trump-Era FX Volatility: How Policy Messages Still Move Markets
Policy as a Currency Catalyst: How statements on tariffs, trade, and monetary policy can quickly reshape FX expectations.
The Dollar’s Mixed Response: Why policy shocks can influence the dollar through inflation, growth, risk sentiment, and rate expectations.
Managing Headline Risk: How scenario planning and predefined risk limits can reduce reactive trading around major policy events.
Speaker:
Abhay Patil
Industry Expert
FundedFirm
04:20 PM - 04:40 PM
